1. Becoming a doctor : in a nutshell

2. Qualifications Entry to medical school… Good GCSE’s Three A Levels Entry requirements vary between medical schools Medicine as a second degree Foundation course for students without a science background

3. Personal Attributes Doctors must be able to… Listen to their patients’ views and respect their rights Be honest and trustworthy Work effectively with other healthcare professionals Act with competence, compassion, responsibility and integrity

4. Career Path Undergraduate education Medical degree (usually 5 years) Postgraduate education Foundation Year 1 Foundation Year 2 Specialty and general practice training (between 3 & 8 years) Continuing professional development

5. Types of doctors General Practitioners (GPs) Generally the first point of contact for patients. Their main responsibility is to assess a patient’s health and make an appropriate diagnosis Hospital Doctors This group of doctors work in hospitals and can specialise in a range of different areas of medicine including surgery, psychiatry, paediatrics, anaesthesia and general medicine Other Doctors can work in a range of other settings including in the armed forces, for the police or at a medical school

6. For more detailed information, please see the full version of the ‘Becoming a Doctor’ guide on the BMA website: www.bma.org.uk/careers/becoming_doctor www.bma.org.uk/careers/becoming_doctor If you have any further queries, please contact the BMA Science and Education department info.science@bma.org.ukinfo.science@bma.org.uk