Can you tell me more about work as a GDMO, and if there are more opportunities to get training in specialist areas?

Hi Cuan,

GDMOs are firstly attached to a medical regiment, this will involve spending some time with the regiment to help train CMTs and may also involve going on regimental exercises.

You are also attached to a military medical centre, here you will have a GP supervisor, and when not on exercise/deployment you will spend most of your time here providing primary health care and occupational medicine.

When you are deployed on operations or exercise you may go independently or with a GP. You will provide primary health care, pre-hospital emergency care, occupational medicine as well as also providing advice to the chain of command on medical issues.

At present GDMOs have various opportunities for further training.
There are multiple military courses that may interest you, but there is also funding available for other courses not provided by the military. You have lots of opportunity to attend both military and civilian conferences, and should you wish to build your CV, there are lots of helpful secondary care consultants who are willing to involve GDMOs in research and audits.

At present you can spent 10 days during GDMO time working in a secondary health care specialty, it is possible this may change, but at present that is the current guide.

You apply for specialty training in your 3rd year as a GDMO alongside your NHS colleagues. Depending on what you wish to specialise in you may be required to undergo an Army interview first. For example, if there are two spaces for Emergency Medicine trainees, but there are six who wish to apply, the Army will conduct their own interviews and then support three or four applicants through the process, the two who score the highest marks at national benchmarking will then be selected. Those who are unsuccessful may have applied to another specialty, or they may be allowed to undergo a further year as a GDMO and apply again. At this point they will also be required to apply for an NHS job, so that if they are unsuccessful in gaining a military training job, they can leave and train as an NHS employee.

It is worth bearing in mind that while the military do employ lots of secondary care consultants in various specialties, the number of training jobs will vary from year to year. You will be given advice on the number of jobs available in which specialties in advance of the application.

If you are unsure about any of the above, or you have any other questions please ask away.