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  1. General practitioner

    General practitioners (GPs) treat all common medical conditions and refer patients to hospitals and other medical services for urgent and specialist treatment.  

    Training usually starts with a five year first degree in medicine. You’ll then complete two years of foundation training and three years of specialty training. The length of training can vary according to your circumstances.
    NHS salaried GPs earn at least £60,000 a year. GPs who run their own practices will usually earn more. Doctors may work up to 48 hours a week. The working hours may sometimes extend beyond the normal working day to include early mornings, evenings and weekends.
    You’ll need excellent clinical skills and be able to diagnose and manage multiple diseases and problems whilst dealing with the uncertainty of clinical presentations. You’ll manage time and people well, have highly developed communication and change management skills and work well in a team. It’s important that you can assess risk and take initiative in highly pressurised and emotive situations.
    You could specialise in areas such as sports medicine, adolescent health, diabetes or palliative medicine, get involved in research or teach medical students or postgraduate doctors in training.
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