A specialist registrar (SpR) is a

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

or the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of

medicine 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 pr ...

in order to become a

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servi ...

in that specialty. After graduation from

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, ...

, a specialist registrar will undertake several years of work and training as an

intern 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 gove ...

pre-registration house officer 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 graduates in the United Kingdom who had just passed th ...

, and as a senior house officer. It may be required to take diploma examinations in order to enter registrar training. These are administered by the

medical royal college In the United Kingdom, some Commonwealth realms and Ireland, a medical royal college is a professional body in the form of a royal college responsible for the development of and training in one or more medical specialities. United Kingdom and Ire ...

or in some cases a separate postgraduate training body responsible for that specialty and are usually termed "memberships". This means membership to the

Royal College A royal college in some Commonwealth countries is technically a college which has received royal patronage and permission to use the prefix ''royal''. Permission is usually granted through a royal charter. The charter normally confers a constitut ...

of their specialty. For example, those wishing to specialise in general medicine must take the examination for

Membership of the Royal College of Physicians Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries ...

. Doctors will work in specialist registrar posts for around four to six years, depending on their speciality. They gain experience in a broad speciality (for example, general medicine), and often also a subspecialty (such as

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular h ...

). After this they receive a certificate termed a ''

Certificate of Completion of Training The Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) is the certificate that medical doctors in the United Kingdom receive to indicate that they have completed training in their chosen specialty and are therefore eligible for entry onto the specialis ...

'' (CCT) in the UK, or ''Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training'' in Ireland. The certificate is awarded based on satisfactory regular completion of assessments and milestones (known in the UK as the Record of In-Training Assessments, or RITA). In many specialties, doctors must also complete an 'exit' exam or diploma in their specialty, often termed a "fellowship" exam. Doctors with a CCT or CCST are transferred to the specialist register administered by the Medical Council, permitting application to consultant jobs. Specialist registrars are encouraged to undertake research in their field, and many choose to do this by means of a Ph.D. or MD.

UK usage

The entry into Specialty Registrar posts is regarded as highly competitive . Regional advertisements were placed by local deaneries, which controlled the number of places and the funding for posts. The open competition is afforded and, via shortlisting and interviews, successful applicants were given posts for 4–6 years depending on the specialty. A National Training Number is awarded concurrently and is attached to the post rather than the doctor, again historically. The number of posts available is strictly linked to the number of consultants required in a particular speciality, and therefore in the more popular specialities such as Cardiology, General Surgery and Sub-Specialties, Orthopaedics and Plastic Surgery it often took many attempts to get a post - leading to what was known as the "SHO bottleneck", whereby doctors were stuck at the grade of senior house officer for a number of years. Changes in postgraduate medical training (

Modernising Medical Careers Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) is a programme for postgraduate medical training introduced in the United Kingdom in 2005. The programme replaced the traditional grades of medical career before the level of Consultant. The different stages of the ...

) are underway to alleviate this problem. Choice of final specialty is now limited by success in application, rather than time spent waiting for a post to be available and offered.

General Practice

General Practice (GP) Training most commonly entails at least 3 years to achieve a CCT

(CCT) on a

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by ...

(GMC) approved program . This training and competency achievement may be achieved by other means. The CCT involves at least 18 months in hospital posts and at least 12 months in GP clinics or

primary care Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care ...

. Doctors registered in a GP training program are known as GP Specialty Registrars (GP-ST). GP-STs are known to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) as Associates in Training (AiT). This training accompanies MRCGP examinations, which leads to MRCGP membership and a place on the GP Register. MRCGP accreditation is now required to qualify as a General Practitioner.Certificate of Completion of Training. Royal College of General Practitioners. Accessed 2/9/2019. https://www.rcgp.org.uk/training-exams/discover-general-practice/qualifying-as-a-gp-in-the-nhs/certificate-of-completion-of-training-cct-guidance-for-gp-trainees.aspx

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Specialist Registrar Medical education in the United Kingdom Healthcare occupations in the United Kingdom