Specialty training for doctors

Which specialty?

There are over 60 medical specialties to choose from and many sub-specialties.

For information and help:

• Oxford Deanery Specialty Schools - their  factsheets have information and contact details
• The Specialty Pages of www.medicalcareers.nhs.uk gives detailed information on what different specialties involve with information on training pathways, competition ratios, what to expect in the specialty , plus career video clips,  interactive self-assessment exercises and case studies.
• The book So You Want to be a Brain Surgeon, by Simon Eccles and Stephan Sanders (third edition 2008), is a good basic guide to all the medical specialties, with information on the personal qualities needed, stress levels etc. Job summary tables allow quick comparisons to be made between different specialties.
• College websites give specific information on training pathways and training curricula. The GP Recruitment site has GP career stories  and the Royal College of Surgeons of England site has careers stories 
• The Centre for Workforce Intelligence , the workforce planning  body, has factsheets on employment prospects in the different specialties
• BMJ Careers  has specialty articles plus podcasts from the BMJ Careers Fair
• www.medicalforum.com - an independent career support organisation offering some free online modules
• http://www.support4doctors.org  article:  Ways to choose your specialty

Recruitment into specialty

Check out Oxford Deanery recruitment for local all specialty training posts in the area

Medical Specialty Training (England)   is the national website for specialty training in England and has:

• Quick guide to specialty recruitment 2011
• National person specifications for posts
• Guidance for applicants from overseas
• Links to medical specialty and recruitment pages for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.