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Geriatrics has always benefited from large number of overseas trained doctors. We are pleased to announce BGS support for a timely new research project documenting the contribution of overseas trained South Asian doctors to the development of the geriatric specialty in the UK and exploring their experiences over the last fifty years. The two year project is led by Prof Joanna Bornat of the Open University and is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

During 2008 Prof Bornat and her co-investigators Dr Parvati Raghuram, Dr Leroi Henry and Dr Gail Wilson will record the experiences of twenty serving and forty retired South Asian doctors who have worked in geriatrics in the UK. The researchers will undertake oral history interviews exploring issues such as reasons for going into geriatric medicine, career moves and strategies for personal advancement, sources of support and barriers to career advancement and intercultural aspects of patient care and the work environment. Audio recordings and transcripts of these interviews will be lodged with the BGS and will also be deposited in the British Library Sound Archive.

Beneficiaries
The BGS as well as other organisations, such as British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin and British Medical Association, will directly benefit from this project, as it will contribute towards a more complete understanding of the history of the development of Geriatrics in the UK. Furthermore it will validate the contribution of South Asian doctors and document their positive and negative experiences in the NHS. The participants will be afforded an opportunity to share their experiences, gain recognition for their service to the specialty and NHS in the knowledge that their experiences will be used to influence future policy. Collecting oral histories from the pioneers before these accounts are lost for ever will benefit students and researchers working on health research, geriatrics and the history of South Asian doctors in the UK, as well as members of the public with an interest in the history of the NHS. Free public access to this important new archival source will enable future generations of researchers an opportunity to benefit from this timely collection.

Can you help the project?
The researchers are currently looking for working and retired doctors who received their primary medical qualification in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Afghanistan, the Maldives or Bhutan and have previously worked or are currently working as geriatricians in the UK.

If you are interested in participating in the project or would like further information please contact Dr Leroi Henry (l.w.henry@open.ac.uk)

Leroi Henry

BGS Newsletter, December 2007
Issue 14 ISSN 1748-6343 14