Cyprus-Forum.com

[Titsup]

hi Does anybody work as a paediatrician in Cyprus? Could you recommend a good job on the island for a British doctor? I was thinking of Limassol, Paphos or Kyrenia. Is there a demand for British paediatricians, if so what level of qualification is required and what would a typical salary be? There are no good websites for non-private hospitals in Cyprus from what I can see so it's hard to make enquiries directly. Thank you if you can advise.

[Zorba]

Well,Dr Titsup,you might have to consider changing your name before you examine kiddies. Or keep the name and just do mammograms.

[Titsup]

Ha ha Lecturer you got me there ...javascript:emoticon(':oops:') not a good look for a children's doctor is it! It seems to be a very popular expression in Glasgow where I currently live and I guess it reflects the mood I was in when I joined the forum. Life really has gone tits-up in the UK for many, many folk, living under "New Labour"s credit crunch.

Here's a definition of "Tit's-up" from Google's phrase-finder in case you're not familiar with the phrase.

Meaning

Inoperative; broken. The term is also used to mean fallen over (on one's back)

Origin

This is a 20th century phrase, probably of military origin. There's certainly no mention of it in print prior to WWII. It has been suggested that the term derives from the behaviour of aeroplanes' altitude indicators, which turn upside down when faulty and display an inverted 'W' resembling a pair of breasts. There's no real evidence to support this speculation and it seems more likely that the phrase is just a vulgar alternative to the earlier 'belly-up', which has the same meaning.

'Belly-up' is an allusion to fish, which float that way when 'dead in the water'. This expression was known in the USA by the 1920s, often related to bancruptcy or other commercial disasters. For example, this extract from John Roderigo Dos Passos' Letters, 1920:

"Labor's belly up completely - The only hope is in the I.W.W." [the Industrial Worker's of the World, a.k.a. The Wobblies]

So- nothing to do with mammary glands I'm afraid, but hey it got me a response in cyber-space anyway so can't complain. Do you like living in Cyprus? I visited for the first time Christmas week and was very impressed. I used to live in Australia and miss the sunny climate, but at least Cyprus is only a 4 hours jaunt!

Titsup

[Zorba]

Its good if you have a decent job thats always in demand. I never saw an empty paediatrican waiting room (or any doctors) Probably not enough to go round and you should do well with the English residents mainly for the for the direct communication/translation problems.

[turkkan]

titsup, you will have to pass the national medical license exam on both sides of the island to be able to practise medicine. Im not sure if these exams are offered in english on either side of the island. You could also alternativley join the british forces and work in one of their bases, their pay should be significantly be higher than what the NHS offers but im not sure if their field hospital requiers a peads department. Im also not sure whether you can work as a non-millitary doctor in the british bases. Dont expect to make much money on either side of the border as you will be hard pressed to find non-english mothers bringing their kids to you. Have you finished your ST training btw?

[Oracle]

This "border" turkkan mentioned is not what you would understand by border, living in Scotland. It is actually a ceasefire line because the northern part of Cyprus is under illegal occupation. So you may want to reconsider your request for work in Kyrenia (under Turkish occupation).

If you want to remain on the right side of EU Law etc ... you should just look for work in the free areas. The alternative is Médecins Sans Frontières, but Turkey looks after her own really well apparently, so we keep hearing ... hence your efforts would be wasted there.

[Titsup]

Thanks for your comments folks. I have MB ChB (basic medical degree), MRCPCH (post-graduate paediatric UK exams part 1 and 2) and MSc (Medical Genetics). I haven't completed specialist training in UK, i.e. don't have CCST (Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training) because UK don't recognise Australian post-graduate specialist training if it is done prior to UK exams. i.e. I've trained in both UK and Australian NHS health-care systems. Are the medical licensing exams in Cyprus specific to the specialty (i.e. paediatrics) or equivalent to doing US entrance exams, in terms of covering all different pre-clinical and clinical subjects? I don't speak Greek/Turkish so would expect to have more of an ex-pat patient base. I visited both sides of the island, but there do seem to be a lot of British living in the Northern side too despite the fact it is under Turkish occupation. It doesn't seem easy to get work as a doctor on either side of the island though from your comments. Pity it's such a beautiful country and you even drive on the left!

[Get Real!]

Thanks for your comments folks. I have MB ChB (basic medical degree), MRCPCH (post-graduate paediatric UK exams part 1 and 2) and MSc (Medical Genetics). I haven't completed specialist training in UK, i.e. don't have CCST (Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training) because UK don't recognise Australian post-graduate specialist training if it is done prior to UK exams. i.e. I've trained in both UK and Australian NHS health-care systems. Are the medical licensing exams in Cyprus specific to the specialty (i.e. paediatrics) or equivalent to doing US entrance exams, in terms of covering all different pre-clinical and clinical subjects? I don't speak Greek/Turkish so would expect to have more of an ex-pat patient base. I visited both sides of the island, but there do seem to be a lot of British living in the Northern side too despite the fact it is under Turkish occupation. It doesn't seem easy to get work as a doctor on either side of the island though from your comments. Pity it's such a beautiful country and you even drive on the left!

Good qualified medical staff is in great demand here especially at the new Nicosia General Hospital...

Information: 1400
Larnaka New General Hospital: 24 800500
Larnaka Old General Hospital: 24 304312
Lemesos New General Hospital: 25 801100
Limasol Old General Hospital: 25 305333
Nicosia - Makarios Hospital: 22 405000
Nicosia Makarios Hospital (Thalassaemia Centre):
22 405000
Nicosia New General Hospital: 22 603000
Pafos General Hospital: 26 803100

[CBBB]

Your British qualifications should be recognised here automatically, any Aussie ones you would need to check on.

Apart from the Government hospitals (where getting a job normally involves a lot of politics) there are plenty of big private clinics that I am sure would be interested.

Did you contact the Cyprus Medical Association as someone advised you on another forum?

http://www.cyma.org.cy/

[Titsup]

Thanks. Tried but website isn't working at the moment. But seeing as CBBB works at the Centre of the Universe I was hoping he might put a good word in for me with a higher power!!??