Hi Zachary,

I applied for both the Army and GP training simultaneously during FY2, although I expect applying for GP may be less onerous than applying for surgery.
The main thing for me was that specialty applications and the time off needed for them come out of your study leave allowance, whereas my military application came out of my annual leave as my deanery saw it as a 'change of career', this was not the case for all my colleagues who were joining the military, and I expect it varies depending on who is making the decision/what deanery you work in.

In hindsight, if I hadn't joined the Army, I would have deferred starting GP training if I had been offered a place (I withdrew my application when I was successful with my army application). By the middle of FY2 I had realised I needed a break from hospital medicine, and that is how lots of foundation doctors feel, taking a year out to build your CV, earn a bit of money as a trust grade or locum and spend some time travelling etc... is very normal now.

If it is something that concerns you, you can start your Army application during FY1 and get most of the stages out of the way in that year, leaving FY2 free for your specialty training application.

I hope that helps, let me know if you need anything clarifying or you have any other questions.

29 October, 2020 15:52