Clin Med
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The effect on health of urbanisation is two-edged. On the one hand, there are the benefits of ready access to healthcare, sanitation, and secure nutrition, whilst on the other there are the evils of overcrowding, pollution, social deprivation, crime, and stress-related illness. ⋯ Here we review some of the health-related aspects of urbanisation, and comment on strategies designed to improve urban health. Because there is such a clear divide between the long process of urbanisation in industrialised western nations and the relatively recent explosive expansion in resource-poor countries, they are discussed separately.
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The number of international medical graduates (IMGs) passing the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) examination was six times greater in 2004 than in 2000. This has resulted in unprecedented numbers of applicants for junior posts, with some attracting over 1,000 overseas graduates. ⋯ The group is seeking ways of selecting applicants when such large numbers apply for posts and is looking at ways of improving clinical attachments. The paper considers these and other difficulties that IMGs face when they first seek employment in the UK and discusses possible solutions.