Emergency medicine training in the UK – your guide to becoming an A&E doctor

When deciding to become an A&E doctor, you may look at emergency medicine training that is available in the UK and get overwhelmed with the amount of information out there. However, it’s easier to understand than you may think. In this guide, we will outline the role of a doctor in emergency medicine, how to specialise in the role as well as what salary and progression you can expect from the career.

Topics covered in this guide:

• What is an emergency doctor?
• Daily duties and responsibilities of an emergency doctor
• Available emergency medicine training in the UK
• Earning potential for emergency medicine doctors
• Career progression for emergency medicine doctors
• Your emergency medicine career with Pulse

What is an emergency medicine doctor?

Doctors in emergency medicine examine and assess patients that come into hospital with serious and life-threatening conditions. This could mean that you provide treatment to patients whilst they are at their sickest and you will get to help alleviate their symptoms.

Even though they typically work in hospitals, emergency medicine doctors can also be found working in minor injury units, in regional trauma networks or at major events (such as festivals).

As an emergency medicine doctor, you will see many patients from different backgrounds and with different ages. You could treat a range of patients, from someone with a broken bone to a patient with a mental health condition.

Because emergency medicine is a 24-hour service, you may have shift patterns that require you to work evenings and weekends. Plus, you may also be requested to work on-call shifts if there are certain emergencies that require your expertise.

Daily duties and responsibilities of an emergency doctor

Doctors in emergency medicine carry out many duties throughout their day-to-day work, including care activities such as:

• Triaging and carrying out diagnostic work
• Performing procedures for life-threatening conditions and illnesses
• Collaborating with other medical professionals in teams
• Arranging patient transfers
• Interpreting tests
• Completing documentation and maintaining accurate patient records

Additionally, A&E doctors can also undertake other non-clinical activities during their time working that ultimately help them to improve throughout their career. These tasks include:

• Participating in ongoing training
• Mentoring junior staff and medical students
• Undertaking research

Available emergency medicine training in the UK

All doctors in the UK must have completed a degree in medicine recognised by the GMC and two years of foundation training before they pursue any specialty. For those wishing to pursue emergency medicine, you will need to complete the Acute Care Common Stem (ACCS). To decide which route to take, you can test your eligibility on the NHS website of person specifications. There are two pathways you can follow in ACCS in the UK, they are:

Run-through training

This is the better training route for doctors that have already decided they want to become an A&E doctor and only wish to apply for training once. Through this training, doctors immediately apply to begin their specialty training after they have completed their foundation training. In run-through training, you will start on ST3 and work through to ST6 as a middle-grade doctor.

Applications for core training are based on satisfactory examination results from foundation training. During this training pathway, you will specialise in emergency medicine, although there will also be opportunities to take time out to broaden your scope during rotations if you wish. After you have completed your run-through training and received your certificate of completion of training (CCT), you could become a consultant in A&E.

Uncoupled training

This pathway is better suited to doctors in training who are not sure of the specialty they want to pursue, or for those who have changed their mind while completing their training. It requires healthcare professionals to complete three years of Core Training (CT), known as CT1, CT2 and CT3, where you will become a senior house officer. However, with uncoupled training, you will need to apply for specialty training (ST), which is necessary to get the relevant training to pursue a career in emergency medicine. From here, you will start at ST4 and can work up to ST7 as a middle grade doctor.

Similarly to completion of training and obtaining your CCT, you can progress to become a consultant in A&E.

Applying for ACCS emergency medicine training

For all professionals applying for emergency doctor or specialty training, you must apply to join the different training routes. There are different stages for applicants and there are also specific timelines for when you can apply to the different stages. If you’re planning on beginning run-through training, you need to:

• Complete a self-assessment and forward your scores to the relevant NHS trust
• Book an interview once you have been invited to one based on your scores
• Attend the interview

Interview slots are also offered during specific times of the year, and you must complete the application process to ensure that you can book one of the allotted interview slots. Bear in mind that if you undergo uncoupled training, you will have to go through a separate application process for ST3 ACCS Emergency Medicine training.

Do you need a Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) for emergency medicine?

Yes, to apply for ACCS, you will need to take the MSRA, as part of your application to join the training for your chosen specialty. This is an online assessment that will help you to join your desired training programme. Read about the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment to get a better understanding before you apply.

Earning potential for emergency medicine doctors

Throughout your training and career as an emergency doctor, you will be able to benefit from a rewarding salary, receiving regular pay as soon as you begin your foundation training.

Here is an overview of the salary progression of an A&E doctor:

• Core training – starting salary of £43,923 during CT1-2, rising to £55,329 during CT3
• Specialty training – starting salary of £43,923 in ST1, rising to £63,152 during ST6-8
• Consultant – earning between £93,666 and £126,281 depending on your location where you sit on the NHS pay scale

For more information, read our salary guides for doctors in training and our guide for consultant salaries in England. If you’re located in another UK nation, you will find the relevant pay information in the NHS Scotland doctors’ salary or NHS Wales doctors’ salary guides.

Career progression for emergency medicine doctors

In your role as an A&E doctor, you will have many opportunities to progress your career and even try different roles if you wish. For example, you could:

• Specialise in paediatric or mental health emergency medicine
• Go into research, working for the NHS or a university
• Move into training emergency medicine students
• Work your way up to become a consultant in A&E

Your emergency medicine career with Pulse

Here at Pulse, our job specialists have all the tools to pair you up with your dream role. Whether you’re looking to get a permanent or locum emergency doctor position, we have vacancies from NHS trusts and private organisations across the country. Register with us to hear about our upcoming exclusive opportunities or apply to our positions directly and see where your career can take you.