what after medical school?
This diagram taken from the Academic Medical Council sums up the many pathways that can be taken after medical school.
​
After medical school, as of today, a new exit examination has been introduced for final year medical students and international medical graduates (IMGs), the MLA.
​
After taking the exam, you apply to different hospitals for your foundation training. You’re then matched to hospital based on your final year results.
​
During foundation training, you work as a junior doctor (equivalent to an intern using American terminology). Each year is divided into 3 blocks (4 months).
“Academic Medicine.” Medical Schools Council, www.medschools.ac.uk/studying-medicine/after-medical-school/academic-medicine.
source of image:
Each year, you experience 3 different fields of medicine, therefore at the end of your foundation, you would have a more in-depth experience into six fields of medicine. In case you’re interested in pursuing research alongside your medical career, you should think about applying for an academic foundation program!
​
After foundation training, if you aren’t sure about what speciality you want to choose, you have the choice between doing two years of either core medical or surgical training (in general). After these 2 years,you choose a subspecialty. Alternatively, you could directly enter a sub-specialty if you’re sure about what you want to pursue.
After your two years of foundation training, you can also choose to undergo training to become a General Practitioner (GP). This training only lasts for 3 years after which you become a full-fledged practicing GP. In addition to core training, GP training, you can also take up another route known as Acute Care Common Stem (ACCS) which trains doctors in areas of anesthetics, acute critical care, emergency medicine, etc.
Although these are the typical routes taken after foundation training, many doctors may also take time off (a few months to a year) to indulge in areas they find interesting - teaching medical students, undertaking a research project, etc.
However, after medical school (and probably foundation training), you may be interested in the idea of relocating to another country to further your medical training. As expected however, different countries have different requirements apart from visa issues.
For example, the USA requires medical graduates to have completed the USMLE examinations (Step 1 and Step 2) before you are qualified to apply for a job.
Similarly, Canada requires international graduates to pass the NAC and MCCQE exams.