Doctors
Why become a doctor?
Becoming a doctor isn’t an easy option – it takes years of study and hard work. As you learn the skills you need, you will also learn a great deal about yourself. If you like helping people there are few more rewarding or respected careers. You’ll be part of a team of professionals and non-medical staff delivering care to the highest standards in the NHS.
Medicine is about helping people - treating illness, providing advice and reassurance, and seeing the effects of both ill health and good health from the patient's point of view. You have to examine the symptoms presented by a patient, and consider a range of possible diagnoses of their cause. You must test your diagnosis, decide on the best course of treatment, and monitor progress. This demands an enquiring mind, the capacity to acquire and maintain high levels of knowledge which have to be constantly up-to-date, and the ability to relate to people as individuals each with their own health needs.
If you have that passion to improve people’s lives and the determination to reach the highest standards you will have a wide range of career opportunities. You can follow a path to one of many specialties, from working in a hospital as a surgeon to being based in the community as a GP. The training and support available to you in the NHS can help you get to the very top of your chosen career.
Within the practice of medicine itself, there are over 60 different specialties; your medical training will give you the opportunity to discover which appeals to you most.
Broadly speaking, the specialties fall into the following groups:
Medical specialties
Medical specialties cover most of the conditions for which people are admitted to hospital. Roles range from accident and emergency medicine to clinical genetics. Many specialties focus on particular organs such as the heart (cardiology), or disease processes such as cancers (oncology).
Surgical specialties
Surgeons specialise in operating on particular parts of the body, or to address specific injuries, diseases or degenerative conditions.
Psychiatry
Psychiatrists specialise in mental ill health: a priority in today's NHS, with new services being developed to support acute and community care. This is a speciality with wider career opportunities.
General practice
GPs (General Practitioners) are the first point of contact with the NHS for most people. They provide a complete spectrum of care within the local community: dealing with problems that often combine physical, psychological and social components. They increasingly work in teams with other professions, helping patients to take responsibility for their own health.
Paediatrics and child health
Paediatricians diagnose and provide treatment for babies, infants, children and adolescents who have medical problems or are not developing properly. They are also experts in normal child growth, development and feeding.
Obstetrics and gynaecology
Obstetricians and gynaecologists give specialised medical treatment and advice related to the female reproductive system, and cares for women during pregnancy and childbirth. Much of their work involves caring for women who have difficult or complicated pregnancies.
Pathology
Pathologists specialise in the detection of disease through the use of a variety of investigative techniques. Their work can be vital in finding an accurate and early diagnosis - improving the prospects for treatment and is fundamental to the management of cancer care. They also play an important role in identifying sources of disease and reducing the possible risks of further spread.
Radiology
Radiologists specialise in the detection of disease through the use of a variety of investigative techniques. This is fundamental to the management of cancer care.
Anaesthetics
Anaesthetists are essential members of the surgical team, and are also involved in developing treatments to relieve chronic pain and offer intensive care support to very sick patients.
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmologist's diagnosis and treat disorders related to the eye, orbit, and visual system.
