On Saturday, 4th January 2025, the University of Ibadan Medical Students’ Association hosted a webinar themed “Navigating Residency Pathways in the United Kingdom” via Zoom to educate medical students on the different pathways to becoming medical professionals in the United Kingdom (UK), specifically.
The webinar was anchored by the Association’s Special Duties Officer (Clinical), Theophilus Olayiwola, and Prosper Igbozuruike. It featured three guest speakers, who are all UK-trained specialists: Dr Oluwaseun Oluwatosin (Psychiatric Medicine), Dr Douglas-Iyalla Pepple (Family Medicine), and Dr John Bishop (Emergency Medicine).
The speakers thoroughly expatiated the steps involved in pursuing a residency in the United Kingdom in several specialities and offered a general guide to approaching these specialities. The process, which includes: completing medical school, one-year Housemanship, National Youth Service, passing an English proficiency test e.g IELTS, passing the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) 1 and 2 exams, completing the General Medical Council (GMC) registration, and then taking the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) examination before being allocated to medical speciality training, before the commencement of the program, was explained in detail with several aspects of the exams highlighted. The panellists also answered questions from medical students, clarifying some of the misconceptions. Students from various Medical Students’ Associations in the Federation were in attendance.
Speaking with the Press on his experience, one of the attendees, Mr Titilayo Oluwasebimotife, said, “I’d say it was an eye-opener for me and other medical students, I believe. And it was a session to be sure of one’s doubt and at the same time weigh one’s options.“
Anyabolu Marvel
