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Rheumatology

Rheumatologists are doctors who diagnose and manage chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatic conditions can affect people at any age.

Those under 16 are generally treated in paediatric rheumatology services, before starting to transition to care within adult rheumatology settings.

Life as a rheumatologist

You’ll diagnose and manage musculoskeletal conditions including inflammatory and non-inflammatory disorders, which can affect people’s bones, joints, muscles and soft tissues. 

You’ll treat people with:

  • inflammatory joint disease, for example rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis
  • degenerative joint disease, for example osteoarthritis
  • autoimmune disease [1], for example lupus, scleroderma, myositis
  • metabolic [2] bone disorders, for example osteoporosis
  • crystal arthropathies, for example gout or pseudogout
  • musculoskeletal infections

Rheumatologists work to improve the lives of children and adults with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease. You’ll spend quite a bit of time in outpatients speaking to and examining patients and undertaking investigations such as plain x-rays,  ultrasound [3] scans and MRI [4] scans.

You’ll see inpatient referrals from all over the hospital. 

Many rheumatologists do practical procedures such as joint injections and/ or muscle biopsies. 

How much can I earn?

You’ll first earn a salary when you start your foundation training [5] after medical school.  Find out details of current salary ranges for foundation and specialty training, SAS doctors [6] and consultants on the Pay for doctors [7] page. 

How about the benefits?  

  • make a difference 
  • flexible and part-time working 
  • high income early in your career   
  • work anywhere in the world   
  • excellent pension scheme 
  • good holiday entitlement 
  • NHS discounts in shops and restaurants

Must-have skills

  • excellent communication skills to manage a wide range of relationships with colleagues, and patients and their families
  • emotional resilience, a calm temperament and the ability to work well under pressure
  • teamwork and the capacity to lead multidisciplinary teams
  • problem-solving and diagnostic skills
  • outstanding organisational ability and effective decision-making skills
  • first-class time and resource management for the benefit of patients

Entry requirements

Your first step is medical school. Typically, you’ll need excellent GCSEs and three A or A* passes at A level including chemistry for a five-year undergraduate degree in medicine. Many medical schools also ask for biology and others may require maths or physics.

If you already have a degree, you could study for a four-year postgraduate degree in medicine.

You’ll need to pass an interview and admissions test. You’ll be asked to show how you demonstrate the NHS values such as compassion and respect.

Some medical schools look to recruit a mix of students from different backgrounds and geographical areas, so your educational and economic background and family circumstances could be considered as part of your application.

What are my chances of starting a career as a rheumatologist?

There are approximately 699 rheumatologists working in the NHS in England. In 2020, there were 199 applications for 33 specialty training places.

How to become a rheumatologist

After medical school, you’ll join the paid two-year foundation programme [8] where you’ll work in six placements in different settings.  

After your foundation programme, you can apply for paid specialty training [9] to become a rheumatologist, which will take a minimum of seven years.  

You may be able to train part time, for example for health reasons or if you have family or caring responsibilities.

Where a career as a rheumatologist can take you

You’ll have the opportunity to develop sub-specialty interests such as:
  • paediatric rheumatology
  • metabolic [2] bone disease
  • autoimmune multi-system connective tissue diseases

​You may also have opportunities to conduct research or take on education and leadership roles.

  • Find a vacancy

    • Consultant Rheumatologist

      Sheffield, S10 2JF

      Salary:
      £105504.00 to £139882.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Consultant Rheumatologist job (opens in a new window) [10]
    • Consultant Rheumatologist

      Doncaster, DN2 5LT

      Salary:
      £105504.00 to £139882.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS FT
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Consultant Rheumatologist job (opens in a new window) [11]
    • Consultant Rheumatologist

      Barrow in Furness, LA14 4LF

      Salary:
      £105504.00 to £139882.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Consultant Rheumatologist job (opens in a new window) [12]
    • Consultant Rheumatologist

      Blackpool, FY3 8NR

      Salary:
      £105504.00 to £139882.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Consultant Rheumatologist job (opens in a new window) [13]
    • Consultant Rheumatologist

      Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DN

      Salary:
      £109725.00 to £145478.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Consultant Rheumatologist job (opens in a new window) [14]
    • Locum Consultant Rheumatologist

      Torquay, TQ2 7AA

      Salary:
      £105504.00 to £139882.00
      Type:
      Fixed-Term
      Employer:
      Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Locum Consultant Rheumatologist job (opens in a new window) [15]
    • Booking coordinator - Rheumatology

      Oswestry, SY10 7AG

      Salary:
      £24625.00 to £25674.00
      Type:
      Fixed-Term
      Employer:
      Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Booking coordinator - Rheumatology job (opens in a new window) [16]
    • Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist - Rheumatology

      Victoria Road, Macclesfield, SK10 3BL

      Salary:
      £37338.00 to £44962.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      East Cheshire NHS Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist - Rheumatology job (opens in a new window) [17]
    • Lead Pharmacist - Rheumatology & MSK

      Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 0RY

      Salary:
      £55690.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Lead Pharmacist - Rheumatology & MSK job (opens in a new window) [18]
    • Advanced Specialist Rheumatology Pharmacist

      Stockport, SK2 7JE

      Salary:
      £53755.00 to £60504.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Advanced Specialist Rheumatology Pharmacist job (opens in a new window) [19]
    • Senior Clinical Fellow in Rheumatology

      Gloucester, GL1 3NN

      Salary:
      £59175.00 to £95400.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Senior Clinical Fellow in Rheumatology job (opens in a new window) [20]
    • Band 5- Dexa Technician, Rheumatology

      St Albans, AL3 5PN

      Salary:
      £31469.00 to £38308.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Band 5- Dexa Technician, Rheumatology job (opens in a new window) [21]
    • Consultant in Rheumatology *Welcome Bonus 20K*

      Ipswich, IP4 5PD

      Salary:
      £105504.00 to £139882.00
      Type:
      Permanent
      Employer:
      East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
      Apply now on NHS Jobs for Consultant in Rheumatology *Welcome Bonus 20K* job (opens in a new window) [22]
  • These organisations have further information about being a rheumatologist, particularly as your career progresses. Take a look.

    Royal College of Physicians [23]

    Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh [24]

    Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow [25]

    British Society for Rheumatology [26]

    Arthritis Research UK [27]

    And hear from people working in rheumatology: 

    Dr Alan J Hakim, consultant in rheumatology and acute medicine (RCP) [28]

    Dr Derek Baxter, consultant rheumatologist (RCPE) [29]

    Dr Muhammad Farooq Kazmi – ST6, consultant rheumatologist (RCPE) [30]

Other roles that may interest you

  • General internal medicine [31]
  • Immunology [32]
  • Rehabilitation medicine [33]
  • Sport and exercise medicine [34]

Source URL:https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/roles-doctors/medicine/rheumatology

Links
[1] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/glossary#Autoimmune_disease [2] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/glossary#Metabolic [3] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/glossary#Ultrasound [4] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/glossary#MRI [5] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/glossary#Foundation_training [6] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/career-opportunities-doctors/sas-doctors [7] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/pay-doctors [8] https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/ [9] https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/ [10] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9190-25-0692 [11] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9272-25-0331 [12] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9331-25-0456 [13] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9382-25-0146 [14] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9317-25-0883 [15] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9388-25-0816 [16] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9224-25-0164 [17] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9209-25-0311 [18] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9390-25-1304 [19] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9362-25-0547 [20] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9318-25-0592 [21] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9360-25-0348 [22] https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9432-25-0582 [23] http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/ [24] http://www.rcpe.ac.uk/ [25] http://www.rcpsg.ac.uk [26] http://www.rheumatology.org.uk/ [27] http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/ [28] https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/education-practice/interview/specialty-career-profile-rheumatology-and-acute-medicine [29] http://www.rcpe.ac.uk/careers-resource/rheumatology [30] https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/careers-resource/rheumatology-2 [31] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/roles-doctors/medicine/general-internal-medicine [32] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/roles-doctors/medicine/immunology [33] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/roles-doctors/medicine/rehabilitation-medicine [34] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/roles-doctors/medicine/sport-and-exercise-medicine