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Are full-time private healthcare positions typically reserved for Consultants only?

(edited 5 years ago)

They'll be consultants. An ST1 is still in very early training so wouldn't be able to carry out any operations to the standard required for private practice alone without supervision or guidance. Most private work is done by consultants with many years of experience who are relatively renowned. That's a broad generalisation but yeh.

Reply 2

username1236842

yes. Private hospitals have junior doctors but they are less prestigious jobs than working in the NHS where there is a proper career structure and time for training.
Some geographical areas and some specialties have very little scope for private medicine. Most consultants who do well from private medicine have made a name for themselves in their local NHS hospital first.

Reply 3

Helenia

Original post by Apologetic Cube

From what I've gathered, a lot of Consultants tend to supplement their NHS work with private work; for example, by be carrying out x amount of additional operations each week. Are these types of positions, where you can effectively double your salary according to this, typically reserved for Consultants and so those around the age of 33-40? Or could, for example, an ST1 surgeon expect to obtain a position doing private work as well as their NHS training?

An ST1 could do shifts as an RMO/RSO at a private hospital (basically general on-call doctor for out-of-hours cover) which would earn a bit more money, but it's basically scut work with little to no training value, so very few actually do it. They would not be actually operating.

Most juniors looking to increase their income do it through locum work.