Doctors working in acute internal medicine assess, investigate, diagnose and manage patients with conditions that exhibit severe symptoms that develop quickly and may be life-threatening.
Training usually starts with a five year first degree in medicine, then there's two years foundation doctor training, two years core training (CT1-CT2), followed by 4 years specialists training (ST3-ST6). For dual CCT: there's five years specialist training (ST3-ST7). This period of training will include your royal college exams. 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 including early mornings, evenings and weekends. You'll also need to be on call. The basic salary ranges from £29,384 to £34,012. Once you start your specialty training as a doctor in acute internal medicine 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.
There are approximately 504 doctors working in acute internal medicine in NHS, England. In 2020, there were 510 applications for 94 specialty training posts. You'll need to specialise in a practical procedure such as echocardiography or gain qualifications in management, leadership or education. You’ll also have opportunities to get involved in research.