*** MED OFFICER JOINING REQUIREMENTS ***

[Young_Spike]

hey ive been thinking recently about changing my mind from joining the mne's and joining the navy as a doctor as i can always then move to the marines later on.

im currently in college 2nd year of A levels what are the possible routes inside as the website is confusing.

i know i need to go to uni, but if i get a sponsorship will they train me all the way or do i have to do parts of it on my own?

id be gratefull for any help

YS

 

[all_purple_now]

Need to clarify one or two things for you.

The RM have no doctors - all their MO's are on secondment from the RN. A couple of people I know joined the RMR as students, earned their beret & then joined the RN on cadetship.

The military have no medical schools. At the moment, you will have to get into medical school (which will require ABB at least at A-Level, one of which used to have to be chemistry) - once you are there, it may be possible to get a cadetship, but (IIRC - and I was not a cadet) they won't give you that until 3rd year (of 5)

I should also point out, with a heavy heart, that it is a particularly bad time to be considering medicine in the UK - workforce planning has been more or less totally cocked up, and at the moment there are fewer jobs to go around than there are junior doctors. This is a situation that is unlikely to change in the near future, as the medical school expansion years have not yet come through. There is a distinct air of despondency amoung my NHS colleagues, many of whom are considering emigrating to Australia/NZ/the US as the situation shows no sign of impending improvement.

The upshot of this is that the services are more or less in a position to pick who they want - so there is no guarantee you would get a cadetship in any case - and if that happened, would you want to be in a profession with significant unemployment?

Finally, the AMS has decided that all Regimental Medical Officers must be qualified GP's - this will effectively end GDMO jobs. At the moment, the RN is not intending to follow suit, but there is no guarantee that this will not change.

Sorry to be negative, and if you have considered all this, I would still encourage you to go for it (as there are few jobs as varied & challenging) but I would recommend you think hard about the downsides - is there any way you can speak to someone who is a military MO or NHS SHO?

APN

 

[Young_Spike]

thanks for the encouragement its only a thought at the moment anyway

 

[all_purple_now]

Hopefully, I haven't been too discouraging - it's just that there's a lot to think about before committing to medicine at the moment.

PM me if there's anything you want to ask.

APN

 

[drwibble]

I was a medical cadet in the RN and am still serving, so PM me if you want to ask anything.

You have to get in to medical school as any potential doctor does and the maximum time you can be sponsored is for your last three years. There are only 15 RN medical cadetships available each year and a lot of applicants for them. You have to do the normal AIB and pass well enough to be offered a cadetship.

After finals you'll do two foundation years like anyone else and then off to do the New Entry Medical Officers' Course which includes Dartmouth, underwater medicine, aviation medicine, Divisional Officers' Course etc etc. There is also a requirement to do 6 months of A & E before going to sea and I'm not quite sure how this will work with the new foundation programme, most of which will include A & E.

As all_purple_ now has said, RN doctors can currently go to sea without immediate supervision, but this may well change. I was lucky I did 2 1/2 years at sea during General Duties without having to fester in a base port Sickbay!

I have no regrets about deciding to join the RN or about being a doctor, but I do feel very sorry for the newly qualified doctors now as the government seems to be doing its level best to ruin professional medical training.

 

[premed]

Hi,

I am applying to medical school at present, and I am interested in joining the Armed Services. Problem is, I am uncertain as to which branch to apply to, as elements of each of them appeal to me.

I would like to hear the pro's and con's of being an MO in the RN, if anybody has got any.

Also, I am interested in specialising in surgery, so if anyone could enlighten me on what the basic and higher surgical training is like and where you are likely to do it I would be very grateful.

Final query, I am applying to Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, and there is not a URNU in the area. Does anyone have any idea on how important this would be when being considered for a medical cadetship, or would a UOTC be considered sufficient? This isnt very important though, as I intend to join up irrespective of whether I get a cadetship.

Thanks very much for your help, and sorry for all the questions.

 

[angrydoc]

Premed,

Basically, you go to med school. Max cadetship (as APN said) is 3y, so that's normally your last 3y. You qualify, get drunk, put on uniform and start your FY1 job, probably in an MDHU (Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit, basically an NHS hospital which houses military staff and patients (see newspapers from last week!)). FY1 jobs are combinations of several hospital and community medical specialties. After this you progress to FY2 when you do three 4-month posts including, in the case of Service MOs, emergency medicine. After FY2 you will do NEMOs and BRNC. Post NEMOs you will go to sea or work in shore bases, but for how long is not known. In previous years you did 3 years as a General Duties Medical Officer (GDMO) - that's what I did and it was great. With MMC and the Govt messing with everything it may all change.

Regarding BST and HST - same as civvy street cos we have exactly the same qualifications. See www.rcsed.ac.uk or www.rcseng.ac.uk for info.

Any Qs, PM me!



angrydoc

 

[all_purple_now]

Final query, I am applying to Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, and there is not a URNU in the area. Does anyone have any idea on how important this would be when being considered for a medical cadetship, or would a UOTC be considered sufficient? This isnt very important though, as I intend to join up irrespective of whether I get a cadetship.

Several thoughts:

If you are definitely keen on the RN it may be worth investgating HMS Vivid (the RNR unit in Plymouth); while it is unlikely you would be able to join the Medical Branch there, a bit of general naval experience might be of benefit.

I would also suggest that you don't rule out other medical schools - you will have much the same experience wherever you go & the overall standard of graduate is much the same. However snobbery being what it is, it might look better on your CV to have been at one of the more established medical schools with an attached teaching hospital, which, with all the will in the world, Derriford isn't.

As regards surgical training, I think you probably should speak to some surgical junior doctors if this is what you want to do. IANAS but the impression I get from the other end of the table is that surgical training is a total disaster area at the moment. MMC should fix this (ha!) and I would anticipate that many of the problems will be sorted by the time you are in a position to apply.

HTH

APN

 

[premed]

Thanks APN,

I understand where you are coming from with the snobbery bit regarding the CV, but I am entering as a mature student at 24 with a previous non-science degree, so I am a bit tied for choice really. It does seem like a top-class college with modern facilities and teaching methods though, and I genuinely do want to study there, it isnt a case of, "oh well, I didnt get Cambridge..." We will wait and see if your advice comes true, you can always say you told me so! :wink:

For some reason, I hadn't considered the RNR to be honest. Will definitely look into it, thanks.

 

[jackdanielsaddict]

If you are definitely keen on the RN it may be worth investgating HMS Vivid (the RNR unit in Plymouth); while it is unlikely you would be able to join the Medical Branch there, a bit of general naval experience might be of benefit.

I understand that you can join the medical branch rnr once u are in your 3rd year, but hopefully you'd have a cadetship by then. Also, speaking to the recruiter, the navy are actually struggling to find people good enough for a cadetship at the mo, so every chance you'll get one- try and remember that, as the AIB is now competency based, not to focus solely on RN input, but get a range of things to show your competency in leadership, team work etc. etc.

 

[all_purple_now]

I understand that you can join the medical branch rnr once u are in your 3rd year, but hopefully you'd have a cadetship by then.

That certainly used to be the case; AIUI the current situation is that the RNRMB will only accept SpRs and consultants - this may, of course, have changed.

APN