Pre-registration house officer (PRHO), often known as a houseman or house officer, is a former official term for a grade of junior doctor that was, until 2005, the only job open to

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

graduates in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

who had just passed their final examinations at medical school and had received their

medical degrees Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

. The term "house officer" is still used to refer to

foundation doctor A foundation doctor is a grade of medical practitioner in the United Kingdom undertaking the Foundation Programme, a two-year, general postgraduate medical training programme which forms the bridge between medical school and specialist/general ...

s (in Foundation Years 1 and 2 known as FY1s and FY2s). Newly qualified doctors are only allowed provisional registration with the General Medical Council, hence their first jobs are prior to full registration with the GMC and these jobs were named pre-registration house officer jobs, usually consisting of two six-month jobs; one predominantly involved with general surgery (often being called a house surgeon), and one predominantly involved with general medicine (often being called a house physician). After 1948, PRHO was the lowest grade in the medical hierarchy of qualified doctors in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

, and was the doctor most often called by nursing staff to see patients on hospital wards, especially at the most unsocial hours of work shifts. After satisfactory work reports in both house jobs, the PRHO gained full registration with the General Medical Council, which is a legal requirement to be able to work in all other medical jobs in the United Kingdom (which until 1922 included the whole of Ireland). Although the PRHO year was taken after graduating from a medical school, the supervision of the PRHO was the responsibility of the medical school from which the PRHO had graduated, and a representative of that medical school was responsible for signing the registration forms which go to the General Medical Council to certify that the PRHO year had been completed satisfactorily. After completing the PRHO year, the junior doctors usually became

Senior house officer A senior house officer (SHO) is a non-consultant hospital doctor in the Republic of Ireland. SHOs are supervised in their work by consultants and registrars. In training posts these registrars and consultants oversee training and are usually their d ...

s to further their career in the medical profession. {{NHS medical career grades Following changes in postgraduate medical education, from 2005, what was the PRHO year now forms the first year of Foundation Training (Foundation Year 1), and trainees during this year now have the job title of

Foundation House Officer A foundation doctor is a grade of medical practitioner in the United Kingdom undertaking the Foundation Programme, a two-year, general postgraduate medical training programme which forms the bridge between medical school and specialist/general pr ...

1 instead of PRHO. Despite this, they are still often referred to as House Officers by themselves and other hospital staff. In other parts of the world, this stage is generally referred to as medical

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

See also