Question for any doctors out there (or nurses!) Need help with my book

[ienjoyeatingcake]

Hello, writing a novel so will be vague, but hopefully someone can help!

Character is a surgeon that works at a children's hospital in London and I need a reason for them to transfer to a hospital in the US. What would be good, believable reason for this other than they just wanted a change? Some kind of opportunity needs to come up, a reason to go. Any ideas?

Thank you so much xxxx

I'm not a medic, but I'm intrigued! Is your character a hero or a villain? In other words, do they have to have genuine reasons for going, or could there be something more sinister behind the move?

Could be a specific training course or an academic sabbatical?

Is this permanent?
They could have applied for and got a job there? A financially lucrative move.

I would say cancer treatment trials.

Why not write about something you know 🤷‍♀️

The only Drs I've known who have done a time in the US are military Drs who also work in civilian/ NHS hospitals and they go to experience different trauma scenarios (more gunshots in US)

Don't think you can just work on the US without doing separate exams but maybe research or sabbatical

Why would a surgeon leave the UK to work in the USA (or anywhere)? Because they are fed up with the pay and working conditions in the NHS 😂

I believe it’s very difficult for UK doctors to practice in the US. I think you usually have to sit the board exams and do a 3 year residency to be able to practice. A huge step back for a surgeon. It’s easier to move after med school and start specialist training in the US (residency).

I think UK doctors can do a short term fellowship in the US. Wasn’t that a storyline in ER? 😂 The highly accomplished English surgeon who was there on a fellowship and fell in love with one of the ER doctors had to go back to starting out as a resident in the same hospital (the first training step after med school) after her fellowship ended to be able to stay.

Some doctors work part time in academic research as well as doing clinical work. Maybe they could go to work in a university?

What speciality of surgery, moving to work in new techniques and research
If he moves to adults he can work in plastic surgery for the president or CIA

What a silly comment. Are you saying all writers must write about things they know/have experienced? How boring.

She's not a villain :) But plenty in there!

Yes, permanent :)

Yes, I could start there. Thank you.

Oooh, I loved ER! You mean the one with the big curly hair?

"Write about something you know" was always the advice given to would be novelists back in the day. This reply is not as silly as you think.

A love interest there ?
A residency at a teaching hospital ?
Fresh start after a trauma here? Maybe has dual citizenship already?
(Caveat - not a medic)

A specialist who has got a secondment opportunity in the US

I remember watching one of those shows about unusual surgery (in the NHS). There was a maxillofacial surgeon who transferred to the US. His wife www already working there and he was fed up with the pay and stress of working in the NHS.

As PP have said, you can't just go and work in the US without having passed the board exams (difficult!). If you want them to work clinically at least.

Could they have been in the US when younger/ earlier in career? I have no idea about the legalities of that so it'd need some research I think, to make it believable.

Unbelievable medical things in books and movies are very annoying!

They would need to be qualified to work in the USA.

Alex Kingston in ER was a believable example of how it would happen.

She had a temporary fellowship to gain experience in trauma surgery, liked it in Chicago so stayed but had to repeat all the junior years to be qualified in the US which having been the boss in the UK she found very difficult.

What, you mean like Stephen King, or Tracy Cavanagh, or, oh anyone who writes fantasy or horror or spy thrillers?

Jeez boring or what?

I've written a novel about witchcraft, but I'm not a witch.

Reviews were still very favourable.

Visiting professor at a university or fellowship as mentioned above. There are some very prestigious programmes out there like Fulbright, say.

Cancer treatment trials wouldn't work for a paediatric surgeon though.

Have you decided what sort of surgery they do?

If you like ER, maybe watch it again! Like Miss Corday, your surgeon would have to start his career from the beginning again after 15+ years of med school and training in the UK. I suppose you could ask the AMA (American Medical Association) if there is another route for UK qualified doctors.

Your “surgeon” would probably need to be a paediatric oncologist if he is going to work on a clinical trial for a cancer drug.

This novel is going to take a lot of research…

Although, top tip, apart from Miss Corday, don’t base your research on US medical dramas where every doctor seems to do their own lab work (looking at you, House) and you get an oncologist and cardiologist performing an appendectomy on a child because they only have half a dozen characters to do everything 😂

Thank you so much everyone for your help! Some great ideas here which I can work with.

Just to clarify, this isn’t a big part of the storyline at all, in fact, it only gets a brief mention. So I won’t need to delve too deep. But it has to be realistic. As one PP said, it’s very annoying when you read / watch something that you know would never happen in real life!

Thanks again. Lovely helpful bunch xxxx