If you are a refugee and a medical professional (for example, a doctor, nurse, midwife, pharmacist, vet), RSD offers support to help you qualify to work in the UK.

What is RAMP?

Refugees in the UK are eligible to work as medical/healthcare professionals, but to qualify to work in the UK you must pass exams to demonstrate English language proficiency (OET or IELTS), before taking specialist medical knowledge exams, such as PLAB for doctors. RAMP Devon offers language training followed by support for professional exams in a range of medical specialist areas provided by a team of qualified professionals who are volunteers with RSD. We aim to support you through an internship period and ultimately into work in the NHS and the transition period that follows.

RAMP (Refugees as Medical Professionals) is a scheme set up by Refugee Support Devon to support refugee medical professionals to qualify to work in the UK.

We have already supported six refugees, who can now continue their medical career in the UK. 

The RAMP scheme is open for applications from refugee medical professionals of any nationality.

What do we offer?

We are an accredited Preliminary Preparation Provider for OET and all our tutors are qualified EFL teachers who have undergone specialist OET training.

Our British medical professionals can cover a wide range of specialisms to help with exam preparation for the relevant professional exams, such as PLAB 1 and 2, or their equivalent in other medical areas.

• OET - Occupational English Test
• IELTS – International English Testing System
• PLAB – Professional and Linguistic Board test (for doctors)

Who can register for the RAMP scheme?

Refugees and asylum-seekers of any nationality can apply for the scheme. For now, our scheme is limited to refugees  and asylum-seekers who live in Devon.

To apply, you must already have a post-intermediate level of English in all four skills areas (reading, writing, speaking and listening) or a recent 6 overall score in IELTS. If you have a lower level of English, please contact us and we may be able to arrange a suitable class.

Interested in joining the RAMP scheme?

Please complete a referral form here. 

Have any questions? Email Denise Parker, our Coordinator for Education & Employability, on education@refugeesupportdevon.org.uk

More information:

Information for overseas doctors - NHS

https://www.occupationalenglishtest.org/test-information/  OET

Hear from people who already benefitted from our RAMP scheme:

“As part of my re-qualification journey as a refugee/asylum seeking medical doctor in the UK, I needed to pass the English Language exam namely OET or IELTS. In order to do that, I had to take a preparatory course. The prep course was costly and I could not afford it because as an asylum seeker I do not have permission to work nor any access to public fund . The RSD booked the OET preparatory course, paid for my travel costs from Plymouth to Exmouth and back and arranged my accommodation during the course period in Exmouth. At the end of the course, I took the OET and as a result, I passed the OET which is a major step in my re-qualification process. 

I believe such support from the RSD is very important in empowering refugees/asylum seekers towards their self-sufficiency, integration in the society and confidence building. I am very grateful to the RSD for this great contribution to my goal and I hope that the RSD continues to provide support to asylum seekers and refugees this way or any other way that helps their sustainability and self-reliance.”

Dr Elyas Ghayasi
July 2019

“I found the classes were really helpful, though I did not attend the reading class due to work. Speaking used to be one of my weaknesses in the exam. The video recommended by Siobhan in the speaking class was really useful. It helped me to focus on clinical communication criteria, and boosted my marks significantly in a short period of time. Practice of speaking in Anthony’s class helped me to build up confidence as well as fluency. Credit should go to Karen who kindly marked three of my writings one day before my exam, and gave prompt and useful feedback. I could now pass my writing exam without her. All in all, I would definitely recommend this course to anybody struggling with OET examination.”

Steve Chan
August 2022