Career Planning

Where to begin

Medicine offers a wide range of career paths and opportunities and you will develop ideas about your future career from many sources as you progress through undergraduate and postgraduate training.  As you make career decisions, a more structured process can be helpful. 

Local advice is the first stop 

The variety of opportunities within medicine means that for most doctors in training, there is a rewarding career available to them. There is a wealth of information available from careers websites, college and specialty publications and other sources.   However, navigating these choices can sometimes feel overwhelming, and guidance can be invaluable.

As you explore career options, initial advice can be obtained locally from your supervisors, colleagues, educational supervisor or training programme director. Their experience makes them well placed to offer insights on specialties and career progression, helping you make informed choices.

More specialised advice 

For more structured Career planning, the S.C.A.N. Framework provides a good framework by helping you identify what is important to you as an individual and matching this to career options. An outline of how to begin using this framework is provided here 

Another useful tool is the e-Learning for Health module on Career Planning – which can be accessed using your GMC number.

For those who are BMA members, the  BMA Specialty Explorer Tool provides an online resource that covers the Self Assessment and Career Exploration steps of the framework to provide an individualised report on careers that match your personal requirements.

Sometimes, you may prefer to seek career advice from outside your specialty or department or speak with someone impartial. This can be particularly helpful when considering more complex career choices, such as changing specialties or transitioning out of medicine. Our Associate Postgraduate Deans (APGDs) provide confidential, one-on-one career guidance and are experienced in supporting doctors in training through these significant decisions.   You can request a one-to-one meeting with one of our Associate Postgraduate Deans here.

If you are not a doctor yet, but you are thinking about it, visit the Thinking about Medicine page.

If you are thinking of taking time out of training after Foundation, visit here

Medical Careers Team Webinars

The Medical Careers Team delivers a series of webinars on an ongoing basis which aim to help trainees and trainers plan their careers, and to support their professional development. Sessions run online via Microsoft Teams, and the sessions have different times, topics and target audiences.

If you are interested in finding out more about the next webinar, "How can we help trainees pass their exams?" which is due to take place on 16 January 2025, please click on the flyer here which contains information about the session, including the topic, specific target audience, and links to add the session to your calendar.

If you require any further information, please contact tdws@nes.scot.nhs.uk

Please find below links to view the previous webinars:

Introduction to Career Coaching - This session introduces the basics of Career Coaching for supervisors, and signposts to resources available for trainees and trainers.

Preparing for Specialty Interviews - This session includes knowledge of the Oriel application platform, evidence to submit in the online application, questions to anticipate during the process, and how to excel at interviews.

Role Modelling in Career Decisions - This session includes what defines a role model, the crucial part that role models play in career decisions, the objective questions that are asked about role models within structured career decision making frameworks, and how best to respond if being seen as a role model.

Which Specialty Suits Me? - This session looks at how we decide the specialty we wish to do in the future. Is there a magic formula? 

Help! I think I am in the wrong specialty - This session discusses the things you may experience if you are doubting your career choice, what you can do to assess this, who to speak to, and what the options may be.

Careers and Health – How They Interact - This session discusses the two way interaction between health and work, sets out strategies for maximising the benefits from work, and when it may be time for a change.

Portfolio Careers - This sessions explores the different ways you can have a fulfilling and successful career as a doctor.

Career planning approaching CCT - This sessions covers aspects of Career planning that trainees should consider as they approach CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training).

Working Less Than Full Time - This session will look at - Is LTFT for me? What are the benefits and negatives of LTFT? Examples of LTFT pathways.

This page was last updated on: 19.12.2024 at 13.02