What does doctor do

So — what do they do? A medically trained doctor is a person who is responsible for the caring for, treating and diagnosing the well-being of patients. Working in medicine offers opportunities for an incredible range of challenging and rewarding career options. A life as a doctor might mean being based full-time in a hospital, working as a GP in a tight-knit community or even working to influence public health policy. There are over 60 specialist fields in the NHS that a doctor can choose to specialise in, so there are many answers to what you could be doing once you become a doctor.

Want to know more about the different medical specialties? This depends on your level of study upon entry to the course and whether you choose to spend an extra year intercalating completing an added one-year BSC degree. The exact time frame to being a fully qualified and unsupervised doctor varies, as family-planning, career breaks and examination stumbling blocks can delay the process.

As a rough guidance, post-foundation programme, the GP training programme takes a minimum of three years, whilst other specialist training can take up to eight years. Completing a medical degree is the first step to a medical career and can take between four and six years, depending on whether a student enters their studies straight after A-Levels or as a graduate.

Intercalating, meaning taking a year out to earn an added degree, would equal taking a total of 6 years to finish med school. During the final year of their studies, students must also prepare to take the Situational Judgement Test SJT , which is required to apply for the Foundation Programme. At this stage, med school graduates complete a two- year training programme and develop their professional and clinical skills in a practical setting. Graduates are now junior doctors, not yet qualified to practice unsupervised but taking on greater responsibility for patient care.

After FT, med school graduates can begin to choose specialties and what comes next depends on their choice of specialty. Crucially, there are a few entry points for specialties and further opportunities to sub-specialise, but the following is a rough guide to what further training might look like. This is uninterrupted training that commences straight after the foundation programme. Doctors begin their specialty training year one ST1 , and progress to ST2 and ST3 as long as all the requirements are passed.

Programmes can last around 3 years for General Practice, and years for other specialties. This type of training is useful for those who decide on a specialty early on in their careers. This mode of training means a period of core training, followed by competitive entry to further specialty training. The majority of hospital physician specialties are uncoupled. Uncoupled options include: emergency medicine and psychiatry.

Forms of uncoupled training programmes are divided into two; core training and ACCS an alternative core training programme. A form of uncoupled training, where doctors complete a core training programme lasting years after their foundation years, before entering specialty training.

At this time, doctors select an area of medicine in which they wish to specialise in. Where doctors compete for appointments to higher speciality training posts according to their field of choice. Training lasts between years depending on speciality choice, and further advancement depends on successfully completing assessments. You can find out more about training pathways, medical specialties and foundation programmes on our sister site, The Medic Portal Professional!

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Your saved articles 0. Go to MedicalDirector. Home Clinical Practice What does a doctor do in a day? It turns out to just be mild upper respiratory tract infection, but then on the way out decides to mention the chest pain she has been experiencing recently… 9am-Lunchtime: Already off to a late start, my morning is filled with a range of health issues — confused elderly, anxiety, earache, depression, sinusitis, anxiety and depression, suspected finger fracture, vomiting and diarrhoea, BP scripts, mastitis, discussion of results called in via our recall system , a fall due to alcohol intoxication, an overdue pap smear called in via our reminder system , travel health advice, STD check and then finally, the excision of a large piece of glass deep in a tradies knee which has been there for weeks and festered nicely.

Too much to do in too little time? Taking time to identify the inefficiencies Looking back at my day, I can see how technology can help save time and give me back more precious hours in the day. For instance: Electronic drug alerts could quickly stop me ordering medication not appropriate for my pregnant patient — or automatically alert me to any contraindications to medications my patient with BP is taking.

Being able to easily and effortlessly print or email factsheets , embedded in the software could allow for quicker communication, improved patient knowledge, better compliance and patient satisfaction.

Immunisation records that are up to date ensure the appropriate vaccine is given. Clinical prompts, suggesting patient supports groups, or treatment considerations based on data analytics, could have a meaningful impact on my patients health — in ways that I might not have otherwise thought of. The recall and reminder systems that have called my patients in could mean the difference between an early diagnosis that is treatable, rather than something more sinister if left too late.

Easy to complete, efficient and intuitive care plans and letter writer templates could help keep my work day flowing better and keep my stress at bay Ordering results that are quick and easy with the ability to have things like pathology favourites could be another great time saver Accessing my patient files via the cloud — wherever I might be at work, home, at the kids swimming lessons and more, could mean I can have a better work-life balance. When a doctor becomes more experienced, he or she may become a team leader or the head of a department.

They are called consultants. Consultants are responsible for their own workload. They also supervise the work and training of the other doctors on their team. Manager-level job roles for consultants include clinical lead within a team, clinical director of a department, and medical director within a trust an organisation that runs a hospital on behalf of the NHS. As a doctor progresses in their career, they need to complete more training and CPD continuing professional development.

Some doctors go on to teach and train medical students, trainee doctors and other healthcare professionals. Hospital doctor job profile. Student Guides. Career guides. Hospital Doctor Job Profile. What do hospital doctors do? More senior doctors may also: Manage a team or department and organise workloads Research and review processes. Key skills A hospital doctor job description is likely to include some or all of the following skills. Communication Doctors need to be good communicators, so they can explain choices and procedures to patients.

Working under pressure It is important for doctors in hospitals to be able to make the right decision quickly. Bedside manner All medical professionals need to be able to put patients at ease. Leadership Doctors often have to manage a team of other doctors or health professionals. Problem solving and initiative Doctors need to review all of the symptoms and needs of each patient.

Time management and organisation It is essential that doctors thoroughly check their rota and arrive at work on time. Salary How much do doctors make a year?