South Asian Heritage Month: A bridge too far? On tackling barriers to achieving RCPsych Fellowship

This blog post is by Dr Neeti Sandhu FRCPsych, and was written as part of our 2025 South Asian Heritage Month celebrations.  

“It has energised and enabled me to do even more to advance in my chosen field”

The RCPsych Fellowship is the highest professional qualification for a UK psychiatrist and an important milestone marking their contributions to their profession.

For many years, I thought I would not be eligible for the RCPsych Fellowship. There was no specific reason, but I thought it was not meant for people like me, as the least-represented groups are women, International Medical Graduates (IMGs) and ethnic minority doctors - who often work without guidance and encouragement to aspire for success and recognition and who do not put themselves forward in a system where their dedication, achievements and contributions to the field can feel as if they matter less than that of others.

On one occasion, a senior colleague even told me that I was being overambitious in thinking of applying for Fellowship. Although it felt quite disheartening at the time, I am glad that it did not serve as a deterrent to my ambitions. As we celebrate South Asian Heritage Month and reflect on our 'Roots to Routes' – the theme for 2025 - I wanted to share my career journey and hope it will resonate with readers and maybe even encourage others to recognise and realise their own ambitions.

My journey

I completed my medical training in India in 1981 and went on to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology in 1985.

I then migrated to the UK in 1998, only to be informed by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists that there would be no scope for me to continue working in that field due to my IMG status. I opted to train as a GP before following my passion for psychiatry. I began my official journey in psychiatry in 2000 under the St George’s medical school training scheme and obtained MRCPsych in 2004.

After having wondered for many years whether I would be able to achieve Fellowship of the RCpsych, in 2024 I was fortunate to receive guidance from a consultant colleague and supervisor in my Trust as well as from Dr Raj Mohan, Joint Presidential Lead for Equity and Equality, who I bumped into at the BIPA conference in Doncaster in June 2024. He helped me to think about what I had done and supported me to prepare my application for Fellowship. He also asked whether I would consider RCPsych equality work or apply for other college roles.

Raj said to me, “I am sure you have done more than enough to get the Fellowship but may not have recognised your impact; let’s look through your CV”. He mentioned that often IMGs, women and ethnic minority doctors do not get their deserved opportunities and despite performing well, they do not get the support or nominations by their colleagues and organisations to apply for Fellowships. He said: “We can all support our hardworking colleagues to gain recognition for their work.”

Feeling more reassured, I delved into my unusual career journey.

Having previously worked as a senior clinician in India, I had worked at all diverse levels in the UK, starting with an unpaid clinical attachment, working my way through a training programme, as an Associate Specialist and eventually progressing to my role as a consultant.

I reflected on my various contributions in my roles. I was a clinical supervisor for trainees, provided clinical and management supervision to consultant colleagues, mentored medical and non-medical colleagues, medically appraised colleagues, did SI investigations, worked as a senior clinician on a risk panel and PD forums, developed policy guidelines, provided medical leadership for NICE gap analysis, conducted Trust-wide teaching and training, led various quality improvement activities and undertook service development projects.

I was also on the ARCP panel and NHSE panels and provided advice to the health information manager at the college to develop patient information leaflets in Hindi, alongside several other clinical and managerial activities. While I did all this, I had always remained a busy clinician responsible for a large caseload, providing safe and effective care. Despite all this, somehow, I wondered if I had done enough! However, it did not dim my desire and aspiration to achieve FRCPsych.

Submitting the application

I eventually submitted my application with two nominations and obtained the FRCPsych in 2024 - something that gave me a sense of personal and professional achievement.

As an IMG who started my career in the UK later in my life, I am very aware of the barriers for career progression of doctors with protected characteristics based on age, gender, race, nationality, and presence of disability. This is not unlike the discrimination faced by patients from minoritised groups in our health care system. We need to raise awareness of such significant barriers and to address disparities. I think the RCPsych work in this area is commendable and tackles the root cause of inequity.

I have always been passionate about tackling inequity and unfairness, so I applied for the role of RCPsych Equity champion and was successful. It was a great interview experience. As part of that role, I also became an executive member of the Faculty of General Adult Psychiatry of the RCPsych. In this role, I hope to highlight and help to address some of the inequalities faced by professionals, such as the gender pay gap and women’s mental health.

I am actively involved with international charities that work towards addressing inequalities and biases in society and strive to uplift the living conditions and improve access to education and healthcare for children globally. I also participate regularly at local community gatherings and organisations to raise awareness of mental health matters and promote well-being.

I am a published poet who writes in two languages and have published two books of anthology in English and Hindi respectively; creativity is important to me as it helps to unlock the parts of the brain that deal with emotions and aid spiritual evolution. It also allows the ability to think about feelings and to express these from another person’s point of view, thereby promoting inclusion. Poetry is widely recognised for its therapeutic effects, and I am keen to encourage the incorporation of poetry in healing therapies.

Fellowship!

2024 was a big year for me, not only was I awarded the Fellowship but was also appointed to two RCPsych roles. This gives me the chance to do more to advance equity and help others. Though it took time, I got the right support that helped me realise my potential. I also maintained self-belief which helped me to tackle the barriers that were in my way. I recognise that for some people, Fellowship may not hold great significance, but as an IMG woman with an unusual career pathway it meant something important to me. It has energised and enabled me to do even more to advance in my chosen field.

I know that I am not the only one who has faced barriers that left me feeling unsupported. I would encourage people to reach out to allies and mentors everywhere, make a list of all the things that you have done or achieved, and think how you have contributed to different areas. Do ask for advice and apply for Fellowship and other roles in which you are interested. I am happy to help others who are wondering about Fellowship application or considering RCPsych roles.