Overseas visits offer opportunities of dealing with urology in a number of different environments to those that exists in the NHS. Practicing medicine outside the UK has many professional benefits as well as giving back something to those who are a lot worse off than you. Most importantly it is something that the Chief Medical Officer encourages as it helps 'improve the working lives' of those of us stuck on the treadmill that is the NHS. Some people may wish to pursue things on a humanitarian basis and volunteer help directly; they would be best advised to visit the volunteering page in this site.
Just like trainees, consultants wishing to work abroad need to plan well ahead. You would be advised to check with both your service director and medical director that they are happy for you to go and that appropriate leave has been granted for this purpose. You need to check the health risks of the area you are visiting and take appropriate precautions to ensure you return to the UK fit and well. You will need to have a firm link with someone 'at the 'other end' who can orchestrate your programme, determine what documentation you will require when you get to your destination to enable to carry out whatever you want to do. They will need to sort out internal transport for you and arrange your accomodation.
We encourage Consultants to make the first visit to a 'new' centre without a trainee so that it's educational worth can be assessed and fed back to the JCHST if appropraite, for a trainee visit in the future. Further information about making a visit can be accessed within this site.
You will need to have a defined timetable and you need clear objectives of what you are going to take to the centre you are visiting and what you intend to leave behind. This may vary from expertise and surgical technique to information delivered in oral, or electronic form; electronic media, instruments and disposible items may remain to be used after you have returned home.
You will need some method of recording your visit so a notebook, laptop and camera are essentials. If you are on a UROLINK co-ordinated visit then we would like a visit report and some images to put on this website.
