How long does it take to become a doctor in the UK?

How long does it take to become a doctor in UK if you do you BSc in Canada?

• I'm in Grade 12 and I'm debating whether I should study internationally in India or stay in Canada and study. This is what my parents are deciding: They say I should do 1 year (only) of BSc in Canada and with those qualifications, I can go to Manipal, India for the medical school, which will only take around 4 years I think..? Then I can do the rotations/internship in the US, which will take another 1 1/2 years and that will make me a doctor..I think I might be missing something here though :S But I'm against that because I don't want to skip so many years of studying. I don't mind if it takes 15 years in Canada to become a doctor, I'm just completely against skipping years to quickly become a doctor (I want to know everything I can which will help me become one of the best doctors). I hope you guys get what I'm saying but I'm also worried about how much money my parents will have to spend on me for this and that is exactly the only reason why they want me to quickly become a doctor. So what I'm thinking is: If my parents can send me to India to become a doctor, they shouldn't mind sending me to UK. So first of all, I want to know how many years would it take to become a doctor in UK if I go there directly after highschool? Second, how long would it take if I complete my BSc in Canada and then go to the UK to continue my studies? Also, if I'm missing something or I wrote something that's wrong and doesn't make sense, just tell me but please I want specific details of everything. Pleeeease remove my doubts and I would gladly appreciate answers from doctors, and everyone who has something to say (even if it's very little). Ps. I want to be open minded about everything but please give me answers that will finally help me decide what the best option will be :) I already applied to universities in Canada and the final application date is approaching, which is on January 11..so I would like atleast some answers before then :)

• Answer:

  Hi :) Doing a straight medical degree in the UK is generally 5 years. If a student doesn't have a science background before University, this can be 6 years (with the first year being a "pre medical" year to bring you up to scratch) Also, if the University you go to allows you to intercalate (spend a year doing another degree during your medicine degree i.e. in the 3rd year) then this can bring it to 6 years altogether. Finally, if you have already done a degree (you are a graduate) in a science field, you may be allowed to do a 4 year medical degree which is slightly sped up. However I know someone who has a BSc in Biology but still needs to do the 6 year course (with pre-medical year) as he doesn't have an A Level in chemistry ( After the medical degree, you are expected to spend 2 years working in medical placements (each lasting a few months) to show you are competent. This is separated into the FY1 (Foundation Year 1) and FY2 years. After this, you are deemed competent enough to work alone and can then choose your speciality. Applications to UCAS (the organisation which deals with applications to Universities, www.ucas.com) for medical degrees ends in October (the year before you wish to join, so medical students starting in 2012 applied by October 2011) so unfortunately you have missed the deadline for 2012 entry. Additionally, fees for home students will be rising in September 2012 from the current £3290 to anything up to £9000. For non-EU international students, the first few years of Medicine can be around £15,000 however this rises in the clinical years to around £26,000. Living expenses are also very different between India and the UK. An extreme is London, which faces some of the toughest competition for University places and also has a very high living cost compared to India. Sorry for the long essay. In summary, if you are a graduate doing medicine here, it can take you 4+2=6 years. If you are doing normal medicine, it can be 6+2=8 years. After your FY2 year, you can specialise and become a registrar and finally a consultant (10+ years) or become a GP. Hope that helps :)