Summary of UK medical training
| Career stage | Length | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Medical school | 5–6 years | Students typically enter medical school after completing their secondary education. For those who already have an undergraduate degree, there are 4-year graduate entry courses in medicine. Some medical courses last an extra year and allow students to obtain a Bachelor's degree in addition to their medical qualification (intercalated courses) |
| Foundation programme | 2 years | General postgraduate medical training programme, which consists of 3–4 months placements in different hospital specialties |
| Specialty training | 6–8 years (3 years for GPs) | The programmes vary in length and are tailored to the needs of the specialty. Most programmes start out broad and become specialty focused over time |