FAQ - Frequently asked questions
Careers
Where can I find information on a career
in general practice for school leavers?
Please find below links to several documents which will give you
an overview of your route to medical school and then on to a career
in general practice. General practice is an excellent choice of a
career at present with many career options and opportunities for
clinical specialisation.
1) "Becoming
a Doctor: Entry in 2005", published by the BMA, is an
excellent overview of what it takes to enter the medical
profession, including the relevant qualities and qualifications
needed to gain entry to medical school.
2) Insider's Guide to Medical School 2004-2005 is another
BMA publication
which gives the low-down on life at medical school. The
publication:
Lists the entry requirements for each medical school in the
UK.
Describes the positive and negative points of each medical school
according to its students.
Provides information on medical school funding and support.
Includes a feature on a day in the life of a medical student.
Contains an extended section for graduate students and those with
dependents.
3)
'So, You Want To Be a GP?' was written by the
RCGP Chairman and gives a good overview of what to expect from a
career in general practice.
4) A Career
in General Practice: education, training and professional
development is a more detailed RCGP document
explaining your route to medical school, postgraduate education and
training for a career in general practice.
5)
NHS Careers Website is an excellent source for
in-depth medical careers information, exploring why individuals may
want to become a doctor, what personal characteristics and academic
qualifications are required, and what career options are
available.
6) The RCGP has produced a whole range of
Information Sheets about different facets of
general practice which you might be interested in either now or at
a later stage in your education.
If you need information for a Careers Fair or need a GP to give
a careers presentation at a school or College please contact
careers@rcgp.org.uk.
How much training does a GP receive in a
particular illness or condition?
There is no easy explanation of the amount of training that
individual GPs gain in the various medical specialties. It tends to
vary between GPs depending on the focus of their undergraduate and
post-graduate experience.
a. Undergraduate Education
At undergraduate level the General Medical Council’s (GMC)
publication
Tomorrow’s Doctors recommends how the medical
school curriculum is constituted. This guidance is intentionally
non-prescriptive and parameters are flexible to allow for
individual medical schools to define their own programme of
training.
b. Foundation Years
After graduation all medical students undertake a two-year
Foundation Programme of general training which forms a bridge
between medical school and specialist general practice training. It
provides trainee doctors with grounding in practical medicine and
core clinical skills, and will expose trainees to placements across
a much broader spectrum of specialties including accident and
emergency, obstetrics and gynaecology and anaesthetics.
Trainee doctors are also required learn a range of skills including
communication, the undertaking and use of research, time
management, team-working, leadership, quality and safety
improvements, and use of evidence and data. A national
curriculum sets out the educational content of the
Foundation Programme - to be pursued by all newly-qualified doctors
in the UK.
c. GP Specialty Training
Pursuing a career as a GP involves a further three years
of specialty training after this, completion of which will
lead to the attainment of a Certificate of Completion of Training
(CCT), issued by the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training
Board (PMETB).
Most doctors who have chosen general practice as a career will
follow their Foundation Programme with a run-through three year
programme of specialist training for general practice.
GP Specialty Training Schemes leading to the award of a CCT in
general practice are designed to enable the GP trainee to acquire
all the competencies necessary to practise safely and competently
in NHS general practice. Trainees must:
Complete specialist training in general practice totaling not less
than three years full time employment, or the equivalent part time,
in posts/programmes approved by the PMETB.
Complete all three years' training within the seven-year period
immediately preceding the date of formal application for a
certificate.
Pass all three components, Work Place Based Assessment,
Clinical Skill Assessment & the Applied Knowledge
Test.
The three year programme must include:
At least 12 months full time employment as a GP Registrar, under
the supervision of an approved trainer
24 months full time employment in hospital training posts
approved for GP training in relevant hospital specialties. The mix
of specialities in which an applicant has trained is important and
all applicants are expected to demonstrate that they have trained
in a range of specialties relevant to their future career as a GP.
Specifically, the applicant must have completed:
- No less than six months in each of two List A specialities
or;
- No less than four months in each of three List A specialities
or;
- No less than three months in each of four List A specialties.
List A
Accident and emergency medicine.
Paediatrics or community paediatrics.
General medicine or geriatrics or dermatology or GU medicine or
rehabilitation medicine.
Gynaecology or obstetrics/gynaecology.
Psychiatry or old age psychiatry.
Palliative medicine.
If the overall programme is balanced, training up to a maximum of
six months in each of the following specialties is also
acceptable:
List B
Cardiology or medical oncology or clinical oncology or
gastroenterology or endocrinology and diabetes mellitus or
hematology or nephrology or respiratory medicine or rheumatology or
neurology or infectious diseases.
Child and adolescent psychiatry or psychiatry of learning
disability.
Ophthalmology or ENT or ENT surgery or General surgery or
paediatric surgery or urology or trauma and orthopaedic surgery or
trauma/orthopaedics. Intensive therapy.
Public health medicine.
In August 2007 the current form of postgraduate assessment – known
as summative assessment - will be replaced by a three-component
assessment package: workplace-based assessment (WBA), which will
take place throughout the three years; a machine-marked test of
applied knowledge (AKT), which the candidates will be free to sit
when they feel ready; and a clinical skills assessment (CSA) which
will probably take place at the start of the third year.
Satisfactory completion of this new assessment process, will lead
to a Certificate
of Completion of Training (CCT).
How do I apply for a GP Specialty
Training and register for a certificate to
practice?
We have produced a Fact Sheet – A
Career in General Practice:
Education,
Training and Professional Developement in the
UK
– which explains how specialty training translates
into a certificate to practise as a GP in the UK.
What information is there for doctors
wishing to train and or work as a GP in the UK?
(a) If You Need Advice Now
The National Advice Centre for Postgraduate Medical Education
(NACPME) is an information service for overseas-qualified doctors
who wish to train or work in the UK. It is run by the British
Council on behalf of the Department of Health. NACPME aims to
provide doctors with as much information as they need either before
coming to the UK or during their stay here. Please note that NACPME
cannot obtain posts or attachments for doctors.
NAPCPME can give you information on:
General Medical Council (GMC) Registration (EEA and non-EEA).
Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) tests.
International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
Overseas Doctors Training Scheme (ODTS).
Specialist postgraduate training.
Immigration and employment issues.
Postgraduate courses and Royal College examinations.
Contact NACPME at:
National Advice Centre for Postgraduate Medical Education
PO Box 2516
St James House
Bristol
BS2 2AA
Tel: +44 (0)117 915 7069
E-mail: nacpme@nhscareers.nhs.uk
Website: www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/nacpme/
(b) Registration for Doctors
In order to practise as a doctor in the UK, you must first be
registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). It is best that
you make enquiries about registration as early as possible –
preferably before you arrive in the UK. The GMC will also give you
advice about language and PLAB tests. Please note that the RCGP
does not sponsor applications to or exemptions from the PLAB
test.
Contact the GMC at:
First Application Service
General Medical Council
Regent's Place
350 Euston Road
London NW1 3JN
Tel: 08453 573456
E-mail: registrationhelp@gmc-uk.org
Website: www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/index.asp
(c) GP Certification
After registration you will need to acquire special certification
to work as a GP in the UK. You should apply to the Postgraduate
Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) for a certificate of
equivalent experience. Please note that there is no Accelerated
Route for acquiring this certificate.
i. PMETB
Applicants should send their application forms (see below),
fee and supporting evidence to PMETB, who will check their
application and evidence. Although the PMETB will not give
individual advice to GPs on the progress of their application (see
RCGP Certification Unit section) it will offer initial guidance on
how to submit forms and what fees need to be paid. E-mail: article11@pmetb.org.uk.
PMETB Application Form
Guidance for Applications
Once you have supplied all the required evidence and the PMETB
have received information from your referees it will send all the
relevant paperwork to the RCGP Certification Unit.
ii. RCGP Certification Unit
Once you have supplied all the required evidence and the PMETB
has received information from your referees it will send all the
relevant paperwork to the RCGP Certification Unit. The RCGP
Certification Unit - on behalf of the PMETB - processes
applications from overseas doctors wishing to practise as a GP in
the UK. It offers individual guidance on the type of evidence to
submit, the process you will go through, and the progress of your
application. The timescale for processing applications can be up to
ten weeks so leave plenty of time.
RCGP Certification Unit
1st Floor
19 Buckingham Street
London
WC2N 6EF
Tel: +44 (0)20 7930 7228
E-mail: certfication@rcgp.org.uk
(d) RCGP Exam and Membership
Membership of the RCGP and the passing of the MRCGP are not
mandatory for GPs in the UK - you can become a practising GP
without holding this certificate. However, there are many career
benefits to obtaining the MRCGP qualification, for example it will
allow you to become a GP Trainer.
(e) Further Resources
The
NHS Careers website has a section on doctors qualified
overseas which includes information on:
Eligibility to practice and register.
Work permits.
Refugee doctors and induction courses.
Accessing further medical training.
Job vacancies and useful contacts.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has also produced a Guide
to Doctors New to the UK – an introduction to the structure and
culture of the NHS intended for all overseas doctors:
www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/GuidefordoctorsnewtoUK/$file/UKGuide04.pdf
Where do I get information on CPD
requirements for GPs and course accreditation?
We have produced a Fact Sheet – Continuing
Professional Development for GPs – which outlines CPD
in relation to contractual arrangements, RCGP provision and
accreditation of short courses.