Hi Taylor,

To take a break from medicine to take part in offensive combat would involve relinquishing your GMC licence to practice. There is no guarantee you would then be able to get this back, and certainly the recent stance from the GMC is that once you qualify as a doctor you should not be involved in a combat role (it is different if you have been in a combat role prior to qualifying/attending medical school). You may therefore find the Army would not support you in a decision to give up your license if they employed you as a doctor.

We do of course have doctors working alongside all different branches of the Army, and while we remain non-combatants, that does not mean you would never be exposed to combat. The ethics of this are discussed at length during your training and there are strict rules to follow.

In regards to taking a break from medicine from a more general point of view, I think if you take anything more than 3 years between foundation years and specialty training you need to prove you still have foundation competencies. I would advise looking this one up just in case the guidance has last changed since I looked at it though!

Let me know if you have any more questions.

17 February, 2021 12:08