Medical education in the United Kingdom

1. Study the key words below. Read and translate the text.

Undergraduate training –  post-secondary education previous to the postgraduate education. It includes all the academic programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. 

Post-graduate training – a school that awards advanced academic degrees (i.e. master's and doctoral degrees) with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate (bachelor's) degree.

Teaching hospital –  a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current physicians, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients. They are generally affiliated with medical schools or universities.

Intercalated degree – an extra degree awarded in addition to medical degrees, giving the student the opportunity to gain an extra qualification, and aids students' research and individual study skills.

Master’s degree –  an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery -  the two first professional undergraduate degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries that follow the tradition of the United Kingdom.

Vocational training – education that prepares people for a professional position in engineering, accountancy, nursing, medicine, architecture, pharmacy, law etc.

Junior doctor are those in postgraduate training, starting at graduation with a Bachelor of Medicine (or Surgery).

General Practitioner (GP) – a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education to patients.

SHO – senior house officer - a junior doctor undergoing training within a certain specialty.

Specialty Registrar (StR) – doctor who is working as part of a specialty training program in the UK.

Consultant - the title of a senior hospital-based physician or surgeon who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty.

Undergraduate training

In the United Kingdom, medical school generally refers to a department within a university which is involved in the education of future medical practitioners. All leading British medical schools are state-funded. Courses generally last five or six years: two years of pre-clinical training in an academic environment and three-year clinical training at a teaching hospital and in community settings. Medical schools and teaching hospitals are closely integrated. The course of study is extended to six years if an intercalated degree is taken in a related subject.

Due to the UK code for higher education, first degrees in medicine comprise an integrated program of study and professional practice spanning several levels. The final outcomes of the qualifications typically meet the expectations of a higher education qualification at level 7 (the UK Masters degree). These degrees retain, for historical reasons, "Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery" and are abbreviated to MBChB or MBBS.

Specialty training and postgraduate studies

Following completion of medical school, junior doctors then enter a vocational training phase. In the UK a doctor's training normally follows this path:

Newly qualified doctors enter a two year Foundation Programme, where they undertake terms in a variety of different specialties. These must include training in General Medicine and General Surgery but can also include other fields such as Pediatrics, Anesthetics or General Practice.

Following completion of the Foundation Programme a doctor can choose to specialize in one field. All routes involve further assessment and examinations.

To train as a general practitioner (GP), after completing the Foundation Programme, a doctor must complete eighteen months of posts in a variety of hospital specialties - often including Pediatrics, psychiatry, Geriatrics and Obstetrics & Gynecology. The trainee also has to spend eighteen months as a General Practice Specialty Registrar - a trainee based in a GP practice. After completing this training and the relevant exams, the doctor can become a GP and can practise independently.

Hospital doctors are promoted after sitting relevant postgraduate exams within their chosen specialty (e.g. Member of the Royal College of Physicians MRCP, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons MRCS) and a competitive interview selection process from SHO to Specialty Registrar (StR) and eventually Consultant on completion of the CCT(Certificate of Completion of Training), which is the highest level in a specialty (with the exception of university-linked professors).

The competition is significant for those who wish to attain consultant level and many now complete higher degrees in research such as a Doctorate of Medicine (MD), which is a thesis-based award based on at least two-year full-time research; or PhD, which involves at least three years of full-time research. The time taken to get from medical school graduation to becoming a consultant varies from specialty to specialty but can be anything from 7 to more than 10 years.