Medical careers in the armed forces
You could work in the medical centre at an RAF, army or naval base, delivering general practice services for personnel and their families, or in one of the armed forces units in NHS hospitals around the UK, providing secondary care for armed forces staff. In both primary and secondary care, the armed forces offer a structured career path that mirrors the challenges and responsibilities of a civilian medical career. However, the situations medical officers can find themselves in are what make a medical career in the armed forces unique.
Getting in and training up
You can join one of the armed forces while you are studying for your medical degree and you may be offered financial aid to support you through your studies as well as opportunities for work experience and travel. Whether your studies have been sponsored or not, if you have completed your degree but still require training to become a fully accredited medical practitioner, you can join the armed forces up until your 46th birthday but you will have to pass selection tests. To join the RAF, for example, you’ll spend up to four days at the officers and aircrew selection centre at RAF Cranwell, where you will be assessed on your potential to develop officer qualities, including communication skills, self-motivation, maturity, physical fitness and leadership skills.
Junior doctors entering the armed forces will follow the foundation training programme. According to the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) publication Operational Framework for Foundation Training, the Defence Medical Services (DMS) have a number of programmes at the Ministry of Defence Hospital Units (MDHU) at Northallerton, Peterborough, Frimley Park, Portsmouth and Derriford. These posts are fully integrated into foundation training and carry full educational approval. The number of placements does not fully meet the demand for all medical cadet graduates in any one year so the selection process for these placements will take place in advance of the deanery recruiting process to allow medical cadets to participate in recruitment to the deanery programmes if they do not secure a placement within an MDHU.
First commissions
Following full registration and after completion of a short posting to a medical centre to gain first-hand experience of life in the armed forces, medical officers start their first commissions. In the RAF you’ll join as a flight lieutenant or squadron leader, depending on your qualifications and experience. Initially you’ll be offered a short commission, normally lasting three to six years, but once commissioned you may apply for a medium commission of 18 years. Check the websites of the Army and Royal Navy for information about their first appointments. Following this first appointment you will start your specialist training in a hospital specialty, in public health or occupational medicine, or start vocational training in general practice. This will either take place in an MDHU or NHS hospital. All postgraduate training is in accordance with rules laid down by civilian Royal Colleges and follows the same structure as civilian medical training. Typical hospital specialties include anaesthetics, general surgery, orthopaedics, psychiatry and ENT.
Within your first few years, you’ll probably be detached overseas, for anything from a few days to a few months. Your skills could be needed in anything from transporting casualties from an operational environment to recovering someone from an accident in training. In terms of career progression, in the RAF from flight lieutenant you will be promoted to squadron leader within a maximum of five years’ satisfactory service. Further promotion to wing commander normally takes place after a further ten years. To find out about promotional opportunities in the other armed forces, take a look at their websites.
Life in the armed forces
There are unrivalled opportunities in the armed forces to pursue sporting activities and adventurous pursuits, for example flying and mountaineering. However, the lifestyle can be unpredictable as you will be required to go wherever you are needed, which could be anywhere in the world. You could find yourself in the middle of a war zone, so it’s not an option for the faint hearted. You will be an officer and a doctor, so in addition to the professional and academic qualifications you will need to have strong leadership skills and motivation.
The armed forces are generous in supporting doctors in their specialist training. And while your choice of specialty may be determined by the needs of the service that you join, the DMS have their own allocation of national training numbers and can potentially open up training positions within NHS trusts if there is a need for specific skills. Pay is competitive and you will enter a non-contributory final-salary armed forces pension scheme, as well as receiving other benefits.
Thanks to squadron leader Jason Cowell of the medical and dental recruiting team at the RAF for contributing to this article.
More information
To find out more detailed information about medical careers in the armed forces and up-to-date contact information about officer recruiting in the RAF, Army and Royal Navy visit the following websites:
