Personal career guidance

Doctors and dentists who need more expert career help than is available using standard career advice routes can apply for personal career guidance if they live or work in the Oxford Deanery. This help is free to trainees. Doctors and dentists who are no longer in a training post are charged for CDU services.

We offer a coaching style of support, helping individuals to find their own answers: we do not give advice to choose one direction or another.

The CDU can help:

Foundation trainees who are concerned about which specialty to choose
Specialty trainees who feel they may be in the wrong specialty
Senior trainees preparing for an application to be a consultant, if they have a career dilemma.
Established doctors and dentists who are dissatisfied with their job or want to change specialty or career
Doctors and dentists who have to make adjustments to their career because of personal circumstances or the development of health or disability problems.

What to do if you feel you need personal career guidance:

Speak to your educational supervisor about your concerns, if you feel able to share them
Look at www.medicalcareers.nhs.uk as this has detailed, specific information on different medical specialties and careers, as well as an interactive element allowing you to do self assessments about your career expectations
read how CDU personal career guidance works
if you feel a career guidance interview would be helpful, and are eligible for CDU help, email cdu@oxforddeanery.nhs.uk .

Other types of career help available:

The CDU runs two free MedicCareers workshops on career decision-making for all Foundation Year 1 and Year 2 doctors in Oxford Deanery, in each of the education centres
Practitioners wishing to resume work after a career break should contact the relevant Oxford Deanery head of school
Doctors and dentists can apply to the CDU for coaching/mentoring, rather than career guidance, if they feel they are performing below their usual level
Other support for dentists.