Length of training-
Medical School (4 to
6 years):
If you go straight from a secondary
school/6th form college or a college of further
education to study at medical school, then your medical degree will
generally be five years in length, although some students study an
intercalated degree which will mean that they study for an
extra year.
If you are on the accelerated graduate degree
programme then your studies will be four years in length (plus one
year if you study for the intercalated degree).
Foundation School (2
years):
After medical school you will apply to
complete a 2 year foundation programme. This is a generic medical
training programme, where you combine work experience with
training. During the foundation years you will rotate around
different medical specialities. Half-way through the 2nd
year you will be asked to make a choice in which specialty training
you would like to embark on in subsequent years.
At this stage you will be paid a reasonable salary. The
NHS
Careers website has up-to-date information on remuneration.
Specialty Training (3 years at present for GP, and for
other specialties 5 – 8 years):
GP specialty training is currently three years in length,
although this is under review and may be extended to five years in
the future (see:
the Royal College of GPs). For other specialty training
pathways, the length of training varies from between five to eight
years according to specialty.
If you do make the decision to apply to medical school we hope
that you will find this website useful throughout your medical
career. We have pages aimed at medical students to help them make
the most of their years at medical school as well as information
for those at Foundation School and Specialty Training.
For an idea about all specialties in which you can train in
medicine, you can view the specialty
pages. There are over 60 different specialties in medicine!
Interactive Medical Careers Map
Wales Deanery have produced an extremely useful interactive tool
which explains the links between different stages in the medical
careers pathway post medical school. Click on the image below to
view the map:
