Higher Medical Education in Great Britain

British students generally begin their medical studies without any preliminary higher education, typically at the age of eighteen or nineteen. This contrasts with the U.S. system, where a four-year preliminary bachelor's degree is required for entry to medical school. Entry to British medical schools is very competitive. In Britain the course lasts five years, including 2 years of preclinical training, followed by clinical experience at a hospital for additional 3 years. After successful completion of clinical training they graduate as Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery.

In the final year of medical school medical students become Pre-registration house officers. Before obtaining full registration with the General Medical Council (which occurs one year after graduation), trainees are legally able to work in certain highly supervised jobs and cannot legally practice independently.

After completion of medical school, junior doctors go through a vocational training phase, during which they practice in a variety of different specialties. These must include training in General Medicine and General Surgery but can also include other fields such as Paediatrics or General Practice. After that a doctor can choose to specialize in one field. The majority of doctors the UK work in the community as General practitioners (GPs). To train as a GP, one completes two years of posts as a Senior House Officer (SHO) in a variety of hospital specialties - often including paediatrics, psychiatry, care of the elderly and obstetrics & gynaecology. After completing this training and the relevant exams, the doctor can work independently as a GP.

Exercise 6. Answer the questions:

1. Do British students have to get any preliminary higher education before entering a medical school?

2. How long does a course of studies at a British Medical School last?

3. What parts does the course of studies at a British Medical school consist of?

4. What degree do British medical students get after successful completion of clinical training?

5. What do British medical students become in the final year of medical school?

6. In which jobs are trainees legally able to work before obtaining full registration with the General Medical Council?

7. What does the vocational training phase include?

8. When can a doctor work independently as a GP?

Exercise 7. Match the words and word combinations with their definitions:

trainee tutor pre-registration house officer General practitioner (GP) Senior House Officer		a) a member of staff responsible for the teaching and supervision of a certain number of students; b) A junior doctor who has just passed final examinations at medical school and has received a medical degree, but has no full registration with the General Medical Council; c) a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education to patients; d) a person undergoing training; e) a junior doctor undergoing training within a certain speciality under the supervision of consultants.
1.	2.		3.	4.	5.

Exercise 8. Find corresponding equivalents in the text:

Відповідні іспити; більшість лікарів; працювати лікарями широкого профілю; без попередньої вищої освіти; ступінь бакалавра; доклінічне навчання; базова лікарня (медичного навчального закладу); здобути повну реєстрацію; курс триває п’ять років; вступ до медичного ВУЗу; додаткові три роки; на останньому році медичного ВУЗу; проходити через професійну підготовку.

Exercise 9. Fill in the gaps with the active vocabulary:

begin; General practitioners; Pre-registration house officers; trainees; graduation from the medical school; preliminary; relevant; vocational training phase

1. In the final year of medical school medical students become …

2. In the USA a four year … bachelor’s degree is required for entry to medical school.

3. The majority of doctors in the UK work in the community as …

4. … are legally only able to work in certain highly supervised jobs.

5. After completing this training and the … exams, the doctor can work independently as a GP.

6. After completion of medical school, junior doctors go through a … phase.

7. British students generally … their medical studies without any preliminary higher education.

8. Full registration occurs one year after …

Exercise 10. Catherine and Alice are both medical students. Catherine studies in Great Britain but Alice studies in the USA.

Put Catherine’s and Alice’s lines in the correct order to make a conversation about the girls’ studies.

Catherine

Alice

__ Here it lasts longer: two years of preclinical training, two years of clinical practice and one year of training as pre-registration house officers. It is the end of studies at medical school but after that we have a vocational training phase, which is two years long and during this phase we practice in different fields of medicine, and … it is not all yet! Then we have to choose a field and specialize in it for two or even more years depending on the field we specialize in. So, for example, to become a GP it takes about nine years! __Exactly! __Look, Alice, you are twenty-two, aren’t you? How come you are a freshman at medical school? __Oh, I see now. American medical studies seem to be even longer than our British ones! __Hm… it’s quite different from the entry to medical school here in Britain. We can enter medical school after high school. How long does the course of studies at American medical school last?

__It usually takes medical students four years to complete a Doctor of Medicine degree program. __Right, right! The way to become a doctor is a long and hard one, still we don’t have to complain, because it is our choice and we are studying what we are really interested in. __Yes, Cathy, I am twenty-two, but here in America a four-year preliminary bachelor's degree is required for entry to medical school. So, first I studied at university to obtain my bachelor's degree in biology and only after that I could enter medical school. __Well, in America, medical students gain the title of doctor upon completion of medical school, still, we cannot practice independently until completing an internship, which is postgraduate residencies in the chosen field of specialization. Residency is a stage of graduate medical training, something like British vocational training phase. A resident physician in the US is just another word for a house officer in Great Britain. Duration of most residencies can range from three years to ten years for a specialized field such as neurosurgery.

Exercise 11. Catherine is a 4^th year medical student in Great Britain. She is studying to become a physician. Her father, Mr. Bennet is a surgeon at a regional hospital. Catherine’s brother Oliver is 15, he is still at school, but he wants to become a surgeon like his father.

a) Put the verbs in brackets into the correct forms of Present, Past or Future Simple.

1. Oliver …(study) medicine after he graduates from school.

2. Mr. Bennet …(treat) his patients with great care.

3. Catherine … (like) Chemistry and Biology when she was at school.

4. Oliver …(not want) to become a physician.

5. Catherine …(not study) in 5 years’ time.

6. Mr. Bennet …(not live) at home with his parents when he was a student.

b) Complete the questions with suitable auxiliary verbs and answer them:

1. … Mr. Bennet study medicine next year? - ………………………………………..

2. … Catherine want to become a surgeon like her father? - …………………………

3. … Oliver go to school last year? - …………………………………………………

4. Where … Oliver’s sister study? - …………………………………………………..

5. What … Catherine do after she graduates from the university? - ………………….

6. What … Catherine’s father study at university? - …………………………………..

Exercise 12. Put questions to the underlined words:

1. These students have 3-4 classes every day.

2. We will study Anatomy next year too.

3. Her parents came to see her last Saturday.

4. Alison decided to study medicine because she wants to help people.

5. His sister wants to study languages.

6. Bob lived in a hostel when he was a student.

7. They had two English classes last week.

8. Mary will meet her friends at the weekend.

Exercise 13. Answer the following questions to explain the term “general practitioner”:

1. What does a general practitioner do?

2. What do the majority of doctors in the UK work in the community as?

3. What does one do to train as a GP?

4. When can a doctor the doctor can work independently as a GP?

5. What are general practitioners called in Ukraine?