Doctor

Overview

This position is open to various employers, including hospitals, doctor’s offices, universities, research centres, public health organisations, and companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. As a doctor, you’ll need to adhere to the professional standards set by the General Medical Council.

Your responsibilities will involve identifying and recommending appropriate treatments to patients while clearly explaining each option’s potential risks, benefits, and uncertainties. There will be times when you must assess and manage risks, requiring strong decision-making skills and the ability to deviate from established protocols when necessary. You’ll often encounter complex and uncertain situations, necessitating effective teamwork within your healthcare team.

Throughout your apprenticeship and career, you must demonstrate compassion and professionalism in your interactions with patients, caregivers, colleagues, and others. Expect to work varying shifts, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. Upon completing the apprenticeship, you can apply for provisional registration with the General Medical Council.

What You’ll Do

• Be Professional and Ethical: Behave according to ethical and professional principles.
• Maintain Personal Wellbeing: Take care of your physical and mental health personally and professionally.
• Promote Patient Safety: Participate in activities that improve patient care and clinical outcomes.
• Address Complex Situations: Recognize and manage the complexities and inequalities in health, seeking help when needed.
• Protect Vulnerable Patients: Identify factors indicating patient vulnerability and take appropriate action.
• Collaborate Effectively: Work well within diverse teams across different care settings.
• Communicate Openly: Be honest and transparent in communication with patients, colleagues, and others involved in care.
• Conduct Effective Consultations: Carry out consultations with patients in an effective manner.
• Diagnose and Manage Safely: Collaborate with patients and colleagues to safely diagnose and manage clinical presentations.
• Make Holistic Decisions: Collaborate with patients and their advocates to make holistic clinical judgments considering various factors.
• Prescribe Medications Safely: Prescribe medications safely and economically while being aware of potential errors.
• Maintain Accurate Records: Use and maintain medical records accurately and comprehensively.
• Apply Scientific Research: Use scientific methods and findings effectively in medical decision-making.

What You’ll Learn

• Ethical Decision Making: Understanding the ethical challenges in healthcare and how to make ethical decisions, especially when just starting.
• Personal Awareness: Recognising how our attitudes and biases affect patients and learning how to address them.
• Quality in Healthcare: Knowing how to maintain and improve quality and safety in healthcare settings.
• Error Management: Understanding how mistakes happen in healthcare and the importance of sharing them openly to improve safety.
• Human Factors and Risk Management: Recognising factors that contribute to risks in healthcare and how to improve processes to reduce them.
• Quality Improvement: Learning methods to enhance healthcare practices.
• Measuring Care Quality: Understanding the value of surveys and audits in assessing healthcare quality.
• Patient Care Understanding: Grasping the complexities of patient needs, including psychological and social factors.
• Recognising Abuse: Knowing how to identify signs of abuse or neglect and what steps to take.
• Understanding Legal Constraints: Being aware of laws that may limit individual liberties to ensure safety.
• Health Impact Factors: Recognising how lifestyle choices and social factors influence health.
• Equality in Care: Understanding the importance of treating all patients equally.
• Healthcare Leadership: Knowing the role doctors play in managing and leading healthcare services.
• Teamwork Skills: Learning how to work effectively in healthcare teams.
• Behavioural Impact: Understanding how our actions affect others in healthcare settings.
• Leadership Models: Familiarity with different leadership styles applicable in healthcare.
• Effective Communication: Learning communication techniques with patients and their families.
• Human Biology Basics: Understanding human biology from infancy to old age.
• Disease Processes: Understanding how diseases develop at a scientific level.
• Diagnostic Justification: Knowing why specific tests are chosen for certain medical conditions.
• Work Fitness Assessments: Learning how to assess patients’ ability to work.
• Medical Knowledge: Understanding various aspects of medical sciences.
• Clinical Reasoning: Grasping how to diagnose and manage medical conditions.
• Normal Behavior Examples: Understanding typical human behaviour.
• Psychological Health Integration: Integrating psychology into patient care.
• Psychological Factors in Medicine: Understanding how mental health influences medical outcomes.
• Patient Behavior Impact: Recognising how patient behaviour affects treatment.
• Life Change Adaptation: Understanding how patients cope with major life events.
• Substance Misuse Management: Learning strategies to handle patients with addiction issues.
• Behavioural Influence on Safety: Understanding how behaviour affects safety in the workplace.
• Care Settings: Knowing where patients receive care.
• Integrated Care Importance: Understanding the importance of coordinating care across different settings.
• Changing Care Trends: Recognising shifts in healthcare delivery settings.
• Healthcare and Social Care Interaction: Understanding how healthcare and social services work together.
• UK Healthcare Differences: Recognising variations in healthcare systems across the UK.
• Healthcare Information Access: Knowing how to access healthcare system information.
• Clinical Reasoning Explanation: Being able to explain clinical decisions to others.
• Over-diagnosis and Treatment: Understanding the risks of excessive diagnosis and treatment.
• Wellness Promotion: Knowing how to promote overall well-being.
• Population Health Understanding: Understanding population health basics.
• Health Influencing Factors: Recognising various factors that influence health.
• Health Policy Principles: Understanding how health policies are developed.
• Health Hazards Mitigation: Knowing how to reduce health hazards.
• Nutrition Impact: Understanding the role of nutrition in health.
• Global Health Awareness: Recognising global health issues’ impact on local communities.
• Society’s Influence on Health: Understanding societal factors affecting health.
• Sociological Health Concepts: Understanding health concepts from a sociological perspective.
• Applying Sociological Frameworks: Applying sociology to patient care.
• Social Factors in Health: Recognising how social factors affect health outcomes.
• Behavioural Change Understanding: Understanding behavioural change in healthcare.
• Normal Human Behavior Spectrum: Recognising a range of typical human behaviors.
• Psychological Health Integration: Integrating psychology into patient care.
• Psychological Factors in Medicine: Understanding mental health’s impact on medical outcomes.
• Patient Behavior Impact: Recognising how patient behaviour influences care.
• Life Change Adaptation: Understanding how patients cope with major life events.
• Substance Misuse Management: Learning strategies for patients with addiction issues.
• Behavioural Influence on Safety: Understanding behaviour’s impact on workplace safety.
• Medication Knowledge: Understanding medications and their effects.
• Role of Pharmacists: Knowing the role of pharmacists in medication decisions.
• Challenges in Prescribing: Understanding challenges in prescribing medications.
• Complementary Therapy Awareness: Knowing about complementary therapies and their potential impact on treatment safety.
• Remote Treatment Challenges: Understanding challenges in remote healthcare delivery.
• Medication Overuse Risks: Recognising risks associated with over-prescribing medications.
• Professional Information Use: Understanding legal and ethical responsibilities in using medical information.
• Data Analysis Role: Understanding the role of doctors in analysing patient data.
• Evidence-Based Practice: Knowing how to evaluate evidence in clinical decision-making.
• Research Methodologies: Understanding different research approaches.
• Research Ethics: Knowing the ethical considerations in medical research.
• Stratified Risk Description: Understanding risk stratification.
• Personalised Medicine Concept: Grasping the concept of personalised medicine for individualised care.