A specialty registrar (StR) is a doctor, public health practitioner or
dentist
A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...
who is working as part of a specialty training programme in the UK. This is known as a training grade as these doctors are supervised to an extent, as part of a structured training experience that leads to being able to undertake independent practice in a hospital specialty or working as a general practitioner.
This training grade was introduced into UK postgraduate medical training in 2007 as part of the
Modernising Medical Careers Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) is a programme for postgraduate medical training introduced in the United Kingdom in 2005. The programme replaced the traditional grades of medical career before the level of Consultant. The different stages of the ...
programme with the specialty registrar training places being created instead of the
Senior House Officer A senior house officer (SHO) is a non-consultant hospital doctor in the Republic of Ireland. SHOs are supervised in their work by consultants and registrars. In training posts these registrars and consultants oversee training and are usually their ...
(SHO) and
Specialist registrar
A specialist registrar (SpR) is a doctor in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of medicine in order to become a consultant in that specialty.
After graduation from medical school ...
(SpR) posts.
Background
In the UK medical system, a specialist is someone who has the necessary experience and qualifications to be placed on the
GMC's Specialist Register.
Only persons on the Specialist Register can be appointed consultants in the
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
(NHS). Training to become a
General Practitioner will also involve a Specialty Registrar training scheme and completion will lead to eligibility for entry on the General Practice Register.
Doctors can enter this training grade after completing their
foundation training, but need to go through a competitive process of entry into specialty training schemes.
Completing the training scheme will lead to the award of a
Certificate of Completion of Training
The Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) is the certificate that medical doctors in the United Kingdom receive to indicate that they have completed training in their chosen specialty and are therefore eligible for entry onto the specialis ...
(CCT), subject to satisfactory in-training assessment and progress; this is a necessary pre-requisite for entry onto the Specialist Register or GP Register.
From 10 May 2013, fees paid by trainees are an allowable tax deduction from employment income, or alternatively are not liable to tax and national insurance as a benefit if paid by the employer.
Specialty Training programmes vary in length and are tailored to the needs of the specialty. The curricula used for the different specialty training schemes are set by the relevant
medical royal college In the United Kingdom, some Commonwealth realm, Commonwealth realms and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, a medical royal college is a professional body in the form of a royal college responsible for the development of and training in one or more medica ...
.
Under the old system, before applying for the old
Registrar
A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. The term may refer to:
Education
* Registrar (education), an official in an academic institution who handles student records
* Registrar of the University of Oxford, one of the sen ...
posts, applicants were required to have sat and passed part, or all, of a medical royal college's membership examinations while still a
Senior House Officer A senior house officer (SHO) is a non-consultant hospital doctor in the Republic of Ireland. SHOs are supervised in their work by consultants and registrars. In training posts these registrars and consultants oversee training and are usually their ...
. Under the new system Foundation doctors do not need to sit these exams as they play no part in the selection process and are discouraged from doing so.
It is, however, still common practice to begin to take these exams during the second year of the foundation programme and is recommended by experts outside MMC.
[When should I sit the MRCP? Philip A Kalra. Student BMJ 2008;16:235 , 18] The appropriate royal college exams will now be taken during the first year or two of the Specialty Registrar training scheme.
See also
*
Medical specialist
A medical specialty is a branch of medical practice that is focused on a defined group of patients, diseases, skills, or philosophy. Examples include those branches of medicine that deal exclusively with children (paediatrics), cancer (oncology), ...
*
Federation of National Specialty Societies of Canada The Federation of National Specialty Societies of Canada is an organization of national specialty societies in Canada created in 2004 and it is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
It provides a forum for national specialty societies to discuss issues ...
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
NHS Careers websiteModernising Medical Careers website''Modernising Medical Careers''
- publication by the Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
Medical Training Application Service
Healthcare occupations in the United Kingdom