Hello,

If you join the Army while at medical school you will need to do your foundation years in one of the JHG (Joint Hospital Group) locations. JHG North is based at The James Cook hospital. You express a preference for where you would like to work but it is not guaranteed.

You can join as a direct entrant after your foundation years if you prefer. But it is worth remembering that even working for the NHS you will need to rank the various deaneries in order of preference and not everyone will get their first choice.

During your general duties (3 years between foundation years and starting specialty training) you will spend the majority of the first year at RMAS and then DMS(W) near Lichfield. After this you will posted to anywhere in the UK (and occasionally abroad). As with the foundation years, you can express a preference for location, but it is not guaranteed. The south is usually more competitive than the north though.

For specialty training you can again express a preference, some specialties require you to train in a JHG, but others are more flexible.

And once you specialise it depends on what you are doing! If you go into general practice you will move a lot more, to lots of different locations, than if you work in secondary healthcare.

So in answer to your question, yes you can work in the north of England, but I would be prepared to occasionally work elsewhere.

I hope that helps! You will make lots of great friends during your time in the military, which helps when you move around, there's usually a friendly face not too far away.

04 April, 2020 18:39