Im doing med at uni first but want be a CMT for a bit when i graduate and then become an army doctor. Is that possible?

Hello,

It is theoretically possible, but it would be unusual and I would advise against it for several reasons.
From your question it is not clear how familiar you are with a doctor's career pathway, so forgive me if you are already aware of the following.

To practice medicine in the UK you must not only have a medical degree but you need to be registered with the GMC and have achieved your 'foundation competencies'. For those who train in the UK, this means completing two foundation years of training after you finish medical school. You can do this by working for the NHS or employed by the Army in an JHG hospital (Frimley Park, Portsmouth, QE etc..).

The majority of Army doctors, whether they join while at medical school with a bursary, or as a direct entrant after their second foundation year, will then complete the short commissioning course, following this they work as a general duties medical officer for just over 2 years. GDMOs work alongside CMTs as their supervising clinician. This does involve GDMOs working in high risk environments.

Following this, GDMOs still need to choose a specialty and complete their training, 3 years to become a GP and a regimental medical officer (what most people think of when they say 'military doctor'), or they may choose to go into secondary care - surgery, medicine, anaesthetics, emergency medicine etc..

So there are a few reasons I think you should reconsider being a CMT after medical school.
- What you are looking for from being a CMT, I think you will find you will get from being a GDMO. GDMOs deploy far more often, and far quicker than CMTs do. By becoming a CMT you are less likely to find yourself on the frontline than you would if you became a GDMO (within the same time frame).
- If you do become a CMT, your boss will be someone who has the same level of clinical experience as you, but you will be unable to prescribe or practice medicine independently (not being allowed to do what you have just trained to do for 8 years might be quite difficult).
- You will have to do your basic training twice, first as a soldier to become a CMT, then again at RMAS as an officer to become a doctor.
- Financially you would be much better off as a doctor.
- Lastly, maintaining your license to practice medicine would be difficult if you were not working as a doctor, and may lead to you repeating some of your foundation training.

I hope that all makes sense. If you need me to clarify any of the above or you have any other questions, please do let me know.