What Are the Main Types of Doctors?
To become a doctor you have to specialise in all kinds of areas. As you know, doctors have different fields of interest, different tasks, different educations, etc. The medical profession has different specialties. In fact, doctors can specialise in almost any area of health care. Mainly, there are two types of doctors:
- General Practitioner (GP): A GP is a primary care doctor who provides general medical care to people of all ages. They diagnose and treat a broad range of illnesses and injuries, from common infections to chronic or complex diseases, and are usually the first point of contact for a patient. They may refer patients to specialists depending on their condition.
- Surgeons: Surgeons operate on patients to treat injuries, diseases, and deformities. Some surgeons specialise in a particular field, such as neurosurgery, cardiovascular surgery, or orthopaedic surgery, and work only in operating theatres. Surgeons often work with other specialists.
- Paediatrician: Paediatricians are doctors who treat infants (babies), children, and teenagers. Paediatricians observe how children grow up and treat children’s diseases and vaccinations. Paediatricians may specialise in paediatric cardiology, paediatric oncology, etc.
- Cardiologist: A cardiologist is a specialist who is trained to diagnose and treat diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Cardiologists manage people with hypertension, coronary artery disease, and heart failure, as well as diagnostic testing procedures such as electrocardiograms (ECGs) and procedures such as angioplasty.
- Oncologist: Oncologists diagnose and treat cancer. They may use chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery to treat patients and work closely with other specialists like radiologists and surgeons. There are various subspecialties within oncology, such as medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology.
- Neurologists: Neurologists are physicians trained to diagnose and treat disorders of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. They are concerned with the diseases that affect the central and peripheral nervous systems, such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, strokes, and others.
- Psychiatrist: A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who diagnoses and treats mental health disorders (such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder) through medication, therapy, or a combination of both.
- Obstetrician/gynaecologist (OB-GYN): These physicians are specialists in the field of women’s health, pregnancy, and childbirth. Obstetricians provide care during pregnancy, labour, and delivery. Gynaecologists take care of disorders of the female reproductive system, including menstrual problems, infertility, and cancers of the reproductive organs.
- Anaesthetist: Their job is to deliver anaesthesia to their patients before surgery or other medical procedures. The anaesthetist also monitors the vital signs of patients while they are undergoing surgery and relieves the post-op pain of the patient.
- Dermatologist: A doctor who diagnoses and treats diseases and disorders of the skin, hair, and nails. Dermatologists treat acne, eczema, psoriasis, warts, skin cancer, and other conditions, including providing routine skin checks and sometimes performing biopsies, as well as cosmetic treatments such as Botox injections.
What Does a Doctor Do?
Doctors are healthcare professionals who diagnose, treat, and prevent illnesses and injuries. They play a crucial role in maintaining public health, promoting wellness, and improving the quality of life for patients. While the specific duties of a doctor depend on their specialty, here are the general responsibilities of a doctor:
- Diagnosis: The diagnosis of a disease or medical condition is made by a doctor. This involves taking the history (the patient’s account of their medical experience), performing a physical examination, and ordering diagnostic tests (such as blood tests, scans, or imaging) to help determine the cause of the symptoms.
- Treatment Planning: The doctor will come up with a treatment plan for the patient, depending on the diagnosis. This plan can include prescribing medicine, lifestyle changes, performing surgery, or referring the patient to a specialist.
- Preventive Care: Doctors provide preventive care services such as immunizations, health screenings, and counselling on diet, exercise, and other lifestyle factors to help patients avoid illness. This, in turn, helps reduce patients’ risk of developing diseases and managing their health.
- Patient Education: Doctors teach patients about their disease or disorder and the treatments, drugs, and lifestyles that can help them. Doctors should translate complicated medical information into layman’s terms so the patients can understand their disease, their treatment plans, and how to care for their health.
- Medical Procedures: Performing medical procedures can involve doing things such as performing surgeries, biopsies, or diagnostic tests in order to provide a more accurate diagnosis and treatment for patients. This can include a wide range of procedures depending on the area of specialisation.
- Tracking Patient’s Progress: Doctors check on their patients and track their progress as they undergo treatment and prescribed care. Doctors will make changes to the treatment plan or order more tests to be done if needed. They will also make sure that the patient is responding well to the prescribed care.
- Collaboration with Other Healthcare Teams: Physicians often work as part of an interdisciplinary healthcare team of nurses, pharmacists, specialists, and other healthcare personnel.
- Keeping Records: Doctors must keep accurate and complete medical records for all patients at all times. This involves documenting medical histories, diagnoses, treatments, and follow-up care so that the information can be accessed whenever needed.
- Research and Lifelong Learning: The majority of doctors carry out medical research to develop new treatments and improve the quality of care to patients, and doctors are always required to be aware of the latest medical advancements and master the latest medical technologies in order to provide the best possible care to patients.
Average Doctor Salary
A doctor’s salary in the UK can vary greatly, so I’m going to give a rough idea of it. It depends on their speciality, experience, and whether or not it’s in the NHS or private. Here is information about the salaries of doctors in the UK.
- Junior Doctors: Doctors in the early years of training (foundation years one and 2) work in the hospital and are paid an annual salary between £29,000 and £34,000. They work under the supervision of senior doctors to get experience in different medical specialties.
- Speciality Registrars: doctors moving on from foundation training earn between £38,000 and £48,000 while undergoing speciality training for their chosen speciality, such as surgery, paediatrics, or psychiatry, working towards becoming a consultant.
- National Health Service (NHS) general practitioners (GPs): £60,000-£90,000 a year, depending on years of experience and whether they work in a city or a rural area. GPs in private practice or who own their practice will earn more.
- Consultants: Consultants are senior doctors who have completed their training and are experts in their field. They are at the top of the hierarchy and have control over a whole department or speciality. Depending on their seniority, they can earn between £82,000 and £110,000 a year. In the private sector, consultants can make a lot more money, particularly in high-demand specialties such as cardiology or oncology.
- Private Practice: doctors who work in private practice can earn considerably more, depending on their speciality and reputation. A private consultant might charge £1,000 for a consultation and up to £200,000 a year for procedures, for example.
Doctor Skills
- Technical and Interpersonal Skills: To be a good doctor, you need a lot of technical and interpersonal skills. To be a great doctor, you need extra skills, extra hard work, and some luck. Here is the list of skills you need to develop for the first few years of your studies in medicine.
- Medical Knowledge: The essential core of medical knowledge relates to the structure of the body, the causes of diseases, the workings of treatments and medical procedures, and the risks, benefits, and limitations of these. This knowledge is acquired in medical school and on the job in postgraduate training and continuing medical education.
- Problem-solving skills: Diagnosing and treating medical conditions requires complex problem-solving. Physicians must be able to identify and evaluate symptoms, interpret diagnostic tests, and then determine the best course of treatment.
- Communication skills: the ability to explain medical conditions and treatment options to patients accurately and compassionately and the ability to work harmoniously with other healthcare professionals.
- Empathy and compassion: To be a good doctor, you have to possess a high level of empathy and compassion. You have to be ready to listen to patients and also ready to be emotionally available and give patients a genuine sense of care.
- Accurate and precise: Physicians must be detail-oriented and accurate in their medical decisions on diagnosis, prescription, and procedure.
- Time Management: Medical doctors are responsible for caring for several patients’ needs at once. They might have to deal with new patients all the time, and at the same time, they can be carrying out procedures. Having good time management skills is essential for doctors to give patients the care they need in a timely manner and complete all their obligations.
- Teamwork: Most doctors are part of a large healthcare team that can include nurses, other specialists, pharmacists, and administrative staff. Being able to work well with and communicate clearly with colleagues is important for providing good care.
- Manual Dexterity: Many kinds of doctors perform procedures or operations that require manual dexterity and keen hand-eye coordination. Surgeons, for instance, need to be able to perform finely detailed operations.
- Resilience: Medicine is a tough life that requires doctors to deal with long, busy, tiring hours, high-pressure situations, and cases that have emotionally challenging outcomes.
Doctor Tips
Here are some useful tips for future doctors like you to ensure that they make it in the medical field:
- Prepare Early: Medicine is a very competitive sector, so you will need to have a strong academic background. Concentrate on achieving the best possible grades in subjects such as biology, chemistry, and mathematics at GCSE and A-level.
- Gain Experience: A good way of getting to know healthcare settings and gaining real experience is to volunteer in a hospital or care home. This will also help your application to medical school.
- Choose the Right Medical School: Before beginning your medical school selection process, research medicine schools in the UK and select the one that’s most closely aligned with your career goals and specialisation opportunities. Think about the teaching style, the location, and what specialisations the school offers.
- Stay organised and Manage your time. You will have a lot on your plate in medical school and training. You will have to learn how to manage your time and stay organised with the long hours and heavy workloads.
- Build Strong relationships with Mentors: Build relationships with mentors during medical school and training, and always seek mentors throughout your career. Cultivating relationships with more senior physicians can help you learn about different specialties and career paths.
- Keep abreast of medical advances: Medicine is a constantly changing field, and new treatments and technologies are constantly being discovered. Stay on top of research, attend medical conferences, and keep up with continuing professional development so that your skills and knowledge remain current.
- Take Care of Your Own Health: The rigours of medical practice can compromise your physical and mental health. Make sure you take care of yourself, maintain healthy work-life boundaries, and seek help when you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed.
Doctor Requirements
The occupation of a doctor in the UK requires many years of education and training, as well as various professional qualifications. This is the process and qualifications needed to become a doctor:
- A-Levels or Equivalent: A-levels in subjects such as biology, chemistry, and mathematics are required for admission into medical school. For most medical schools in the UK, the applicant must have at least three A-levels with good grades, and science subjects are desirable.
- Medical School: Next, you must secure a medical degree, usually a five- to six-year course. Medical school incorporates both classroom learning and practical terms on the shop floor of hospitals and healthcare settings. You’ll learn anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and medical ethics.
- Foundation Training: All doctors who graduate from medical school in the UK have to apply for a foundation job. These are two-year placements in hospitals. You will spend time in different parts of the hospital and get a taste of what it is like to work in various medical specialties. You will learn as a foundation doctor and choose a speciality.
- Speciality Training: Once you’ve completed foundation training, you can start speciality training in your chosen speciality. These individual specialty training programs vary in length depending on the specialty, lasting from three to eight years depending on the specialty.
- General Medical Council (GMC) Registration: Registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) to practise medicine in the UK. As long as doctors practise medicine to the standards required by the GMC, they can continue to be registered and practice.
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD): For the duration of your career (and probably even after you retire), you will need to take part in CPD activities. CPD stands for continuing professional development and is an important part of being a practising doctor. It involves attending lectures, courses, workshops, and training programs to keep up-to-date with developments in the medical field and to keep your professional skills.
How to Become a Doctor
Becoming a doctor in the UK is a challenging and rewarding journey that requires dedication, hard work, and perseverance. Here’s a step-by-step guide to becoming a doctor:
- Complete Your A-Levels: Focus on achieving high grades in your A-levels, particularly in subjects like biology, chemistry, and mathematics. These subjects are essential for gaining admission to medical school.
- Apply to Medical School: Research UK medical schools and choose the one that best fits your career goals. The application process typically involves submitting your academic qualifications, writing a personal statement, and attending an interview.
- Complete Your Medical Degree: Medical school in the UK typically takes five to six years. During this time, you will study a wide range of medical subjects and complete clinical placements to gain hands-on experience in hospitals and healthcare settings.
- Undertake Foundation Training: After graduating from medical school, you will enter a two-year foundation training program. This is a paid training period where you will work in various medical specialties to gain experience and develop your skills.
- Choose a Specialty and Begin Specialty Training: Once you have completed foundation training, you will need to choose a specialty. Specialty training can last anywhere from three to eight years, depending on your chosen field. During this time, you will gain expertise in your area of interest.
- Register with the GMC: To practise as a doctor in the UK, you must be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). Ensure that you meet all the GMC requirements and maintain your registration throughout your career.
- Start Practising as a Doctor: After completing your training and obtaining GMC registration, you can begin working as a fully qualified doctor. Depending on your specialty, you may work in a hospital, clinic, or private practice.
- Engage in Continuing Professional Development (CPD): Medicine is a constantly evolving field, and it is important to stay updated on new treatments and technologies. Participate in CPD activities to maintain your skills, knowledge, and professional competence.
Get Qualified as a Doctor
Health and Safety Awareness, Occupational Health and Safety Training, CPD Certified Health and Safety Training, Health and Safety Awareness Fundamental Concepts
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Should You Be a Doctor?
Becoming a doctor offers the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Doctors play a vital role in diagnosing and treating illnesses, improving patient outcomes, and promoting overall health. The profession is highly respected, intellectually stimulating, and offers the chance to continuously learn and grow.
Is Being a Doctor a Good Career Choice for You?
If you have a passion for science, problem-solving, and helping others, becoming a doctor could be an excellent career choice. The role of a doctor is challenging and requires dedication, but it offers a high level of job satisfaction and the opportunity to make a positive impact on individuals and society.
Doctor Salaries
Doctor salaries in the UK vary depending on experience, specialty, and whether the doctor works in the NHS or private practice. Junior doctors earn between £29,000 and £34,000, while consultants can earn between £82,000 and £110,000. Private practice doctors may earn significantly more.
Which Qualifications Can Help with a Career as a Doctor?
To become a doctor, you must complete a medical degree, foundation training, and specialty training. Registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) is also required. Additional qualifications, such as a master’s degree or fellowship, can help advance your career, particularly if you wish to specialise in a particular field.
Do I Need to Be an Experienced Doctor to Get Started?
No, you don’t need to be experienced to begin your journey to becoming a doctor. However, completing medical school and foundation training is essential. Once you’ve gained experience during your training, you’ll be able to practise as a fully qualified doctor.
Doctor Career Outlook
The demand for doctors in the UK remains strong, particularly in areas such as general practice, emergency medicine, and mental health. The NHS continues to face challenges in meeting patient demand, which means there are ample opportunities for qualified doctors across various specialties.
Doctor Hierarchy and Progressing Within the Role
Doctors typically progress through a structured career path, starting as medical students, then junior doctors, followed by specialty training, and ultimately becoming consultants or general practitioners. Those with leadership aspirations may move into senior roles such as medical director or hospital executive.
Doctor Exit Options and Opportunities
Doctors have a wide range of exit options, including transitioning into teaching, research, or healthcare management. Some doctors choose to specialise further or move into public health, pharmaceuticals, or global health initiatives. The skills gained in medicine are highly transferable, offering flexibility for career transitions.