Page 51 - CASA Bulletin of Anesthesiology 2019 Vol 6 No 5

Vol.6, No.5, 2019

I didn’t plan to become a medical doctor or an anaesthetist in the UK, as biomedical research
was the only plausible option available when I first came to London. Like most of my friends
and colleagues, I went on to do a PhD degree, which was followed by post-doctoral research
jobs . The research in neuroscience was interesting and challenging, but I yearned to be in a
stable employment . That was when medical training in anaesthetics came to the picture . It took
me 10 years to complete my medical training to become an anaesthetic consult in a large teach-

ing hospital in London .

Whether it is worthwhile to spend a decade to go through medical training from a house offi-
cer to senior registrar is still debatable deep down in myself . Nevertheless, it is challenging and
fulfilling to practice medicine in the UK. Our medical degree from China is recognisable. In
theory, anyone with a Chinese medical degree is eligible to register with General Medical Coun-
cil (GMC) . However, there are hurdles . My biggest challenging was and still is the language
barrier . It took me 2 years to prepare for PLEB (professional and linguistic assessment board)
and passed it after several attempts .

Foundation training (2 years)

This is the first job for every medical graduate who wishes to become a doctor. It is a man-
datory two-year programme (FY1 and FY2) before a speciality training . I rotated in different
medical specialities including emergency medicine and general practise . Due to the long career
break in biomedical research, my first medical job in the UK demanded a steep learning curve
with lots of confusions from culture difference and my inadequate medical knowledge . I was
guided by my senior colleagues, to whom I am eternally grateful .

Specialty training (5-8 years for hospital doctors, 3 years for GPs)

At the end of foundation training, I competed for a place in anaesthetic training in London
through open competition . The minimal specialty training is 7 years (ST1-ST7) for anaesthetics .
Most doctors spend an extra 1-2 years in training, which often is spent on exciting out-of-
training programmes . The shortest specialty training is for GP, which takes 3-4 years at the
moment. I spent nearly 8 years in anaesthetic training before being awarded the certificate of
completion of training (CCT) .

Anaesthesia as specialty

Anaesthesia is the largest hospital speciality in the NHS . It is an attractive speciality with many
potentials such as flexible working patterns. To become an anaesthetist, one is required to be a
member of Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCOA) earlier in the career . As expected, there are
examinations: primary and final FRCA (fellowship of the Royal college of anaesthetists), which
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