After doing 5 or 6 years of Medicine you’ll qualify as a doctor and then you’ll do your foundation years in Medicine. In order to practise medicine you have to do those foundation years before you’re able to move on and specialise in a particular area. During those foundation years you are a qualified doctor and no longer regarded as a medical student.
Foundation years are 2 years (F1 and F2). Of course, as a foundation doctor you’ll still have a lot to learn about Medicine, but learning is done more on the job, it’s no longer like medical school where you’ll have formal written exams/OSCEs that you’re graded on. Most foundation doctors work full-time, I’m not sure whether there is an option to do these 2 years on a part-time basis.
After foundation years the normal route is to begin your speciality training in whatever area you choose, however, some doctors choose to take an “F3 year” where they can pursue other interests, travel, maybe do a Masters before going into speciality training. Right now I’m not sure what I’d like to do – I feels like quite a long way away (it’s at least 5 years in the future for me right now). I think that’s one of those things that you’ll decide when the time comes and will also depend on the speciality that you’re hoping to go into and whether you’ve been accepted on to a training programme.
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