Undergraduate medical training
Medical degrees in UK can be either 5 or 6 years depending on the medical school. It is common practice for medical students to take a year out of their training, usually after the 3rd year, during which they enrol to an intercalated degree (BSc) in medical sciences. This is an opportunity for students to engage in research and build their CV for specialty application in the future. Students who have completed a bachelor (BSc) degree prior to applying for medical training, can enrol to a 4-year programme (post-graduate degree).
The foundation programme
Following graduation from a UK medical school, doctors receive provisional registration to General Medical Council (GMC) and are required to apply for the Foundation programme. This is a two-year training programme prior to specialty training. Upon completion of the first Foundation year, doctors qualify for full GMC registration. Details about GMC registration can be found below.
Doctors who are eligible for full registration with the GMC, including those who qualified in specific European Countries, can apply for foundation year 2 stand-alone programmes, without completing foundation year 1. More information on the UK Foundation programme can be found on https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/.
Specialty training programme
After successful completion of the foundation programme, doctors continue in either specialty training or in general practice. There are 3 categories of specialty training:
- Run – through programmes, which last 3 years for general practice or 7 years for specialties like obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics or psychiatry.
- Core and higher specialty training programmes. Core training is either Core Surgical Training (CST) lasting 2 years or Internal Medicine Training (IMT) – previously known as CMT (Core Medical Training) – which lasts between 2 to 3 years. This is followed by an application to enter higher specialty training.
- ACCS (Acute Care Common Stem), a 3-year programme designed for trainees that want to specialise in Emergency Medicine, Acute Internal Medicine or Anaesthesia.
Upon completion of specialty training, doctors are awarded the Certificate of Completion of training (CCT).
There are also stand-alone programmes, which are not part of a run-through programme but equivalent to the aforementioned training posts that can lead to a CCT.
For more information on specialty training visit https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/.
(image from nhsdoctors.net)
Doctors from abroad
To practice medicine in UK, every doctor is required to hold a registration with licence to practise from the GMC. The process of application can be found on www.gmc-uk.org. There are four types of registration which are summarised on the website.
If you have obtained a degree from another European country, including Cyprus, you can find information on the evidence you need to support your application for GMC licencing on https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/join-the-register/eea-countries.
The British Medical Association (BMA) offers comprehensive advice for European doctors applying to work in UK, including the process for registration to GMC, how to apply for training or non-training posts, and how to apply for the EU settlement scheme (EU citizen status in the UK following Brexit).
www.bma.org.uk/advice/work-life-support/life-and-work-in-the-uk/guide-for-doctors-new-to-the-uk
