Other Career Options

All doctors are required to undertake elements of the above professionally, but some have a more developed interest in these areas and wish to have a greater role in them. The links below provide more information on opportunities available locally and nationally.

Academia / Research:

 

Alternatives to working in the NHS

At various stages in their career, doctors may consider working outside the NHS and options include:

  • Defence Medical Services
  • Working abroad
  • Prison Healthcare
  • Expedition Medicine
  • Volunteering

Information on all these areas can also be found on the Medical Careers website.

 

Careers Using your Medical Degree

There are a range of opportunities for doctors to use their qualification in a non-clinical area, these include:

  • Medical Journalism
  • Medical politics and ethics
  • Law
  • Research
  • Pharmaceutical medicine
  • NHS Management

Information on all these areas can be readily accessed through the Medical Careers website and via Doctors considering Leaving Medicine.

Some Doctors will realise that medicine is not for them or have to leave medicine because of ill health etc. This is often perceived negatively by other medics but that's not always how the person concerned experiences it. Click here for a short presentation from a trainee who left medicine as a positive career choice.

 

Less Than Full Time Training

This is increasingly common for a number of reasons. More information is available on the HEE NW LTFT page of the website.