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Medical specialties: the way forward

September 2007

Medicine is a rewarding and diverse career with many opportunities to suit a variety of personalities and interests. As well as being able to choose a particular specialty to train and work in, one of the great things about being a doctor is the chance to work with numerous other types of healthcare workers and professionals in other specialties.

Choosing a career path requires considerable thought as it will have a huge impact on a doctor’s eventual professional and personal life. It is important to appreciate the choices and prospects available within medicine before postgraduate training progresses. Following the implementation of MMC, doctors are required to choose much earlier in their training the area that they would like to specialise in. This guide is intended as a source of information for medical students and junior doctors. With the advent of run-through training, it highlights career paths available for the more common specialties and provides information that may be helpful when making choices.

Under each entry there is:

• a quick guide to the specialty, which provides essential information at a glance. This gives a character profile of those most likely to be suited to the specialty, and the rewards and challenges of working in the specialty.
• information on the training route
• a find out more box, providing sources of further information.
• Some specialties include ‘An inside look’, from the perspective of a doctor working within the specialty. ‘An inside look’ is not meant to be representative of the entire specialty, but is an opportunity to glimpse a day in the life of one professional.
• The guide also looks at the medical career structure, working abroad and flexible training. In addition, there is a section providing information for doctors from other countries.

While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the information in this report, it should be noted that the arrangements for postgraduate medical training and the implementation of Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) are currently under review and subject to change. The 2008 Independent Inquiry into MMC led by Sir John Tooke has recommended a number of changes to the structure of postgraduate training in the UK. Further information can be found on the MMC Inquiry website. Information on the Government response to the Inquiry can be found on the Department of Health website. The BMA does not accept liability if the information in this report is incorrect following the outcome of this review.

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