Roles as a doctor

Doctors work in all areas of healthcare providing you with endless career possibilities. As part of your medical training, you'll have the opportunity to try out many of these fantastic specialities and then choose the one you would like as your speciality.

Take a look at the range of roles and specialties available.

  • You'll give anaesthetics for surgical, medical and psychiatric procedures.

    You'll facilitate pain free child-birth, resuscitate acutely unwell patients, run chronic pain services and lead intensive care units.

    Find out about working in anaesthesia

  • You'll use radiotherapy and chemotherapy to treat and manage patients with cancer. You'll use a range of other treatments to treat cancers, without using surgery

    Find out about working with clinical oncology

  • You'll use images to diagnose, treat and manage medical conditions and diseases.

    You'll use various imaging techniques including x-ray, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

    Find out about clinical radiology

  • You'll specialise in caring for people's sexual health needs, include contraception, treatment of sexually transmitted infections and the menopause, sexual assault and unplanned pregnancies.

    Find out about working in community sexual and reproductive health

  • You'll work in accident and emergency (A&E) and carry out the immediate assessment and treatment of patients with serious and life-threatening illnesses and injuries.

    Find out about working in emergency medicine

  • You'll treat all common medical conditions and refer patients to hospitals and other medical services for urgent and specialist treatment.

    You'll focus on the general health and care of a person combining their physical, psychological and social needs. 

    Find out about working in general practice (GP)

  • You'll manage critically ill patients with, at risk of or recovering from potentially life-threatening failure of any of the body’s organ systems

    Find out about working in intensive care medicine

  • You'll work in one of 29 different pathways, covering a wide variety of options such as allergy, dermatology, infectious diseases, neurology, and sport and exercise medicine. 

    You'll mix ward work and clinic-based medicine. You'll gain a general knowledge of medicine as you will be working with patients who have more than one medical problem.

    Find out about the medical specialties

  • You'll care for pregnant woman, her unborn child and the management of diseases specific to women.

    Your work will combine medicine and surgery.

    Find out about working in obstetrics and gynaecology

  • You'll diagnose, manage and prevent disease that has been caused or exacerbated by workplace factors.

    You'll visit workplaces and assess a range of work-related health issues. Helping people to stay at work or to return to work following accident or illness is a key part of your role.

    Find out about working in occupational medicine

  • You'll help people of all ages with acute and long term eye disease.

    You'll also undertake eye surgery, usually using an operating microscope and sometimes lasers.

    Find out about working in ophthalmology

  • You'll care for infants, children and young people with a range of medical conditions. 

    You could work in a range of setting and specialist areas, including:

    • general paediatrics
    • neonatology (looking after new born babies)
    • community paediatrics where you'll be based in the community caring for children with developmental, social problems and those with a physical disability
    • emergency medicine

    Find out about working in paediatrics

  • You'll combine clinical and laboratory work to help understand how diseases work and their impact. 

    You'll specialise in one of the five main specialties and offers excellent opportunities to work in clinical research.

    Find out about working in pathology

  • You'll are part of the team helping people with mental health problems. 

    You'll work with these people to find ways to help them such as medication or psychological interventions such as cognitive behaviour therapy and other talking therapies.

    Find out about working in psychiatry

  • You'll look at the health of populations rather than individuals and be responsible for tackling some of the major threats to the health of the public.

    You'll be trained in health protection, health improvement and healthcare public health, but specialise in one area.

    Find out about being a public health doctor

  • You are likely to work in a hospital. As well as performing operations, you'll do ward rounds, lead outpatient clinics and teach.

    You'll specialise in one of ten main surgical specialties. 

    Find out about working in surgery

Other roles for doctors

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