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  1. Gastroenterology

    Gastroenterologists diagnose, treat and work to prevent gastrointestinal (stomach and intestines) and hepatological (liver, gallbladder, biliary tree and pancreas) diseases. 

    Training usually starts with a five year first degree in medicine, MBBS. 2 years foundation doctor training, 2 years core training (CT1-2), followed by 4 years specialists training (ST3-6). This period of training will include your royal college exams . Most trainees dual accredit in general internal medicine and it that case specialty training is five years. Length of training can vary according to your circumstances.
    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, weekends and on call. The basic salary ranges from £29,384 to £34,012. Once you start your specialty training as a gastroenterologist employed by the NHS, you can expect to earn a salary of at least £40,257, which can increase to between £84,559 and £114,003 as a consultant.
    You'll need excellent communication skills to manage a wide range of relationships with colleagues, and patients and their families. You'll be emotionally resilient, have excellent problem-solving and diagnostic skills and work well in teams and under pressure. You'll also be very organised for the benefit of patients.
    In 2020, there were 373 applications for 79 specialty training places. Your career will mainly focus on hepatology (diseases of the liver) but you’ll also be able to specialise in pancreaticobiliary diseases of the pancreas and biliary system, inflammatory bowel disease, tropical diseases, gastrointestinal cancer and its prevention, transplantation, clinical pharmacology and clinical nutrition.
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