Apprenticeships in medicine

Heya! A level student here!
Are there apprenticeships available to become a doctor?
I thought you HAD to go to university but apparently there is something called The Medical Doctor Degree Apprenticeship?

- Also (I think they’re relatively new) but if anyone has taken this apprenticeship how is it? Do you feel as if you are getting the same (if not more) ‘experience’ than going to a medical university? Because apparently the NHS are understaffed so we wouldn’t be ‘taught’ per say.

- And for anyone who hasn’t, please feel free to tell me your perspective, I feel long term it may be better to save money, because I don’t want to be spending my entire life paying student debt (especially since it increased for my year)😓

Tyyy

Hi,

I'm not sure if there are any apprenticeship vacancies available to apply to at the moment. I've been checking nhsjobs.com and the Gov.uk websites frequently and it has been said the medical doctor degree apprenticeship (mdda) is said to be due to start earliest in September 2023.

Since a lot of planning and preparation is going into this programme I think it would be a great way to learn whilst working on the job. We would be employed by a university hospital and learning from specialists and lecturers so this would be a lot more useful especially during the early years. Yes the NHS is understaffed but the benefits significantly outweighs the negative in terms of not having to be in student debt, being paid, and gaining much more real life experiences in comparison to most medical students.

If anyone finds any updates regarding applications for the mdda programme can they please message me.

Thanks

More information is found in the links below.

https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/talent-care-widening-participation/apprenticeships/medical-doctor-degree-apprenticeship
https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/doctor-degree-v1-0

Thankyou for your help!, I was just confused as to whether they were real, because I’ve never heard of anything like it.
If anyone has any extra information, please feel free to drop it below
thankyou! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Thankyou for your help!, I was just confused as to whether they were real, because I’ve never heard of anything like it.
If anyone has any extra information, please feel free to drop it below
thankyou! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Thankyou for your reply!, so would year 12’s be the first to apply.

Hi,

I have recently found that the doctor degree programme is likely to open applications from September 2024.

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/05/16/nhs-doctor-apprenticeships-everything-you-need-to-know/

Yes, well I mean if ur in year 12 now then this time next year you would be applying but it all comes down to timings etc because nothing is confirmed yet, I think they are still finalising things

Hi! Yes I don’t think anything is official as of yet.

I’m a bit confused because if the application for mdda is in September 2024 and you’re in yr12, wouldn’t you already have a placement somewhere else by then?
unless you take a gap year

Hi! Yes I don’t think anything is official as of yet.

I’m a bit confused because if the application for mdda is in September 2024 and you’re in yr12, wouldn’t you already have a placement somewhere else by then?
unless you take a gap year

No, I think how it works is the proposed 'start' date for the programme would be September 2024 but applications would be open around May 2024 to allow them to do the usual application process including any interviews and assessments. Obvs by then you would be in year 13 so your school may advise to apply to universities via UCAS as a backup if the medical doctor degree apprenticeship does not work out.

Most apprenticeships have start dates of September (usually the degree apprenticeships) but the application deadlines are a lot earlier.

I've read in most places that it starts in 2023 but gov.uk posted quite recently that the program might start in Sept 2024.

Still confused actually as you might never know, they might either postpone it even more or its going to be in Sep 2023.
I, too am interested in researching about this.

Just wanted to know
Would anyone suggest that the MDDA is a good route in becoming a Dr. I know a few medical students and they asked if when you complete the mdda could you then work abroad?
They also ask, is it something legit, where you would actually become a Dr, and one that's licensed by the gmc?

Any opinions?

Many thanks

I think the prospects of transferring that medical qualification abroad are lower as other countries won't have any idea exactly how it pans out yet and some countries do specifically stipulate to be registered as a medical doctor you need to have completed a certain number of years or ECTS of degree level study, which the apprenticeship may or may not meet.

If you want to practice medicine in another country you should aim to do a medical degree in that country. Medicine is to some extent jurisdictional.

No one knows if it will be a "good route" as it's new and hasn't started yet, but yes it is "legit" at least insofar as it's designed to produce doctors qualified under UK legal frameworks.

Thanks for the response
I remember contacting the gmc about this, they did mention that, once you complete 5 years, and the additional 2 FY, you are a fully pledged Dr
With that, once becoming a fully pledged Dr, you can go to other countries and complete their medical tests. Thing is with this apprenticeship which no one mentions is that you are getting a legit medical degree from a university, so if other countries ask you "where did you get your medical degree from", you could mention the university your apprenticeship was aligned with

Correct me if I'm wrong
Many thanks

I would expect so. I know with degree apprenticeships such as speech and language therapy apprentices get exactly the same degree that the full time people get from the same university.

Thanks for the response
I remember contacting the gmc about this, they did mention that, once you complete 5 years, and the additional 2 FY, you are a fully pledged Dr
With that, once becoming a fully pledged Dr, you can go to other countries and complete their medical tests. Thing is with this apprenticeship which no one mentions is that you are getting a legit medical degree from a university, so if other countries ask you "where did you get your medical degree from", you could mention the university your apprenticeship was aligned with

Correct me if I'm wrong
Many thanks

The thing is that it's up to the other country to decide if they will recognise the qualification or not. The GMC can accredit them all the same and say as they like but ultimately if e.g. the UAE says "actually we will not recognise this qualification" that's really that.

Also when it comes to working in medicine in other countries with a medical qualification from a different country, even if they do recognise it, that doesn't mean you'll be able to get a job with it. All UK medical schools are recognised in the US but realistically you're unlikely to get a position for a variety if reasons without going to one of a much narrowed number of UK medical schools. As the employers there aren't the NHS and don't consider all medical schools equal and CAN and WILL discriminate among applicants based on where they went to medical school.

It's a much more complex picture than you think and this is part of why I say medicine is to a point jurisdictional. Not only are the laws governing registration of doctors different in every country, how they recruit and train doctors and even just how their healthcare system is set up will be vastly different.

So if you were to get a degree, from a university, by doing a degree apprenticeship, the chances are you can move to different countries?