DVLA Medical

[NileR]

It's my understanding that so called junior doctors have to continue varied functional roles ie A & E, pediatrics GP, etc for a period of time before being considered fully qualified. So five years of study and then, I believe three or four further years, to be fully "qualified". Wow. Hat tip to all.

Hi, yeah, definitely.Thanks for the information. That's a long, long time and it's not exactly simple what they have to study and put into practice.
I was also aware that they need to do other roles too for several years.
I was meaning after that period, when they were fully qualified.
I would imagine that in many ways this is how and why people gain a particular interest, find out this is what they are most skilled / best at and gain knowledge and specialism, then going onto become specialists and consultants.

 

[bored waiting]

It's my understanding that so called junior doctors have to continue varied functional roles ie A & E, pediatrics GP, etc for a period of time before being considered fully qualified. So five years of study and then, I believe three or four further years, to be fully "qualified". Wow. Hat tip to all.

just to let you know ive started a new thread if people have questions but in response to this

The standard training is a 5 year degree after A levels.
Once you've done the degree you can call yourself Dr ( forever , even if you never work another day in your life )
Once you graduate from a UK med school you have provisional registration with the General Medical Council GMC
You must work in a recognised supervised role in an NHS hospital to move from being provisionally registered to fully registered.
Once fully registered you can then apply for training in whatever you want to do.
Your a junior Dr from when you graduate until your a consultant. Its really just a name, is a Dr who has worked for 15 years junior ( not really ) but from a contact POV you are

You could if you want , do your degree and then move to say Canada and work there or Australia or the states ( you need to do their exams though ) and never work a day in the NHS. But then you wouldn't get your full GMC registration so you couldn't work in UK unless you go and do a job that is recognised as a training job for junior Drs to get full registration.

Med school approx 5 years ( I did 8 and two degrees )
Foundation Programme 2 years ( the basic first two years in hospital everyone does- you get full GMC registration after the first year )

Then you pick what you want to do, GP , Surgery, Medicine, Psychiatry etc etc and move on to the various training programme for that
6- 10 years approx

There's also lots of exams after your degree you must do to progress. They cost thousands of pounds, and you have to pay for them yourself. and you only have a certain number of attempts ( no pressure there )

So essentially the degree gives you the title. A minimum one year after the degree gets you on the GMC register. but if you don't want to work in UK you don't have to.

Most people stay in the UK after the degree and jump on the moving train that is UK training...... - But , and this is were it gets unpleasant for juniors , you have really minimal control over where in the nation you work. The process for applying for jobs means you apply to an area and have to be ranked and scored and then you may get a job in an area for example. You have almost no control over where you go, its not very fair or nice, but it is what it is.

University £9250 x 5 years = £46250 (university fees only- not including cost of living accommodation food drink etc etc
You can borrow from the UK student loan company and then the repayments start when you work and you pay it back as a salary sacrifice.

Starting salary for a Foundation Year 1 Dr is £28,808

I left med school with approx £95000 debt. My dad worked in a factory and my mother an office assistant. There are NO grants or freebies.

Im now debt free

Hope that covers it. Anything else hit me up on my thread The Dr Speaks

 

[Luna2000]

As a consultant , we work on something called programmed activities (PAs) . We do as standard ( for most people - some do less ) 10 PAs a week as standard , on call , teaching , management etc is additional . 5 days , two four hours sessions a day , Monday to Friday ergo 10PAs .

I get one that’s not direct clinical contact to do admin, mandatory training , professional development etc . If it doesn’t get done during your time you stay late and do it , but you don’t get overtime and we are not able to claim anything extra . We are deemed to be salaried professionals and it’s up to us to get the work done whatever .

there’s never enough hours in the day to do everything . So things always get left to a
Different day . And sadly as a DVLA form won’t directly impact in the short term a persons life … ( don’t shoot the messenger ). They will tend to be done after everything else . But you never get everything else done , so they wait

I’m not saying it’s right , but it’s what happens .

to us all right now waiting on paperwork or the dvla , this paperwork is a major major thing . But to a dr looking after ( 30 inpatients like me ) and responsible for countless others in outpatients, the DVLA isn’t high on our priority list . I can’t speak for GPs but in my hospital and trust I know now that fee payable work done on site ( I.e during working hours ) goes to the trust . As individuals we therefore don’t and can’t claim for it and so it doesn’t get prioritised or in some cases done.

If we do it privately then we can charge for it

I don’t do private work , NHS only and have done so since 2000 and I never have enough time to do everything during my working time . I spend hours every week early morning and late evenings just trying to catch up and I never get paid for it , but I’m trying to diagnose cancer and keep people alive , so I can’t just say sorry it’s five im done. You do what needs to be done

There’s the dilemma
We all want our paperwork done
But it’s just not a priority for the Drs filling it in

full disclosure , my consultant who filled in my paperwork , I’ve been seeing privately and that probably helped me get it done quickly . He’s a full time NHS consultant who also does private work occasionally. He refused to take payment to fill in the form as he knows how important it is to my MH to get back to normal life.

i can’t imagine most GPs being so accommodating.
So to anyone reading this , make friends with your GPs as best you can and if you can them to do it quicker by doing it privately , consider doing it if you can . Make sure your Dr knows your well and that your trying to do everything you can to stay well.

if abstinence is required , do it and make sure you can prove it .
If passing a cdt or urine is important , just stop drinkng and smoking .
If you do you’ll not have to convince anyone of anything as the tests won’t be an issue .
If you can’t stop , get help , you have a problem

good luck to all

It is an unfortunate reality of life that all professionals who are salaried are required to work 'as necessary' to fulfill the functions of their role. My last roles before I retired was classified as 'All Hours Worked.'

My wife was an English teacher and spend at least 2 hours every night in preparation and correcting students' work.

I worked in Construction as a Project Manager and 60 hour+ weeks were not unusual. Add to that 'unpaid' travel time to and from remote locations, and this would increase massively.

It is no surprise that many then seek solace in alcohol to wind down after a hard day before their 4 or 5 hours sleep.

Not sure how to get around this issue as even employing additional staff is not the panacea people imagine.

 

[Callumrayb]

As a consultant , we work on something called programmed activities (PAs) . We do as standard ( for most people - some do less ) 10 PAs a week as standard , on call , teaching , management etc is additional . 5 days , two four hours sessions a day , Monday to Friday ergo 10PAs .

I get one that’s not direct clinical contact to do admin, mandatory training , professional development etc . If it doesn’t get done during your time you stay late and do it , but you don’t get overtime and we are not able to claim anything extra . We are deemed to be salaried professionals and it’s up to us to get the work done whatever .

there’s never enough hours in the day to do everything . So things always get left to a
Different day . And sadly as a DVLA form won’t directly impact in the short term a persons life … ( don’t shoot the messenger ). They will tend to be done after everything else . But you never get everything else done , so they wait

I’m not saying it’s right , but it’s what happens .

to us all right now waiting on paperwork or the dvla , this paperwork is a major major thing . But to a dr looking after ( 30 inpatients like me ) and responsible for countless others in outpatients, the DVLA isn’t high on our priority list . I can’t speak for GPs but in my hospital and trust I know now that fee payable work done on site ( I.e during working hours ) goes to the trust . As individuals we therefore don’t and can’t claim for it and so it doesn’t get prioritised or in some cases done.

If we do it privately then we can charge for it

I don’t do private work , NHS only and have done so since 2000 and I never have enough time to do everything during my working time . I spend hours every week early morning and late evenings just trying to catch up and I never get paid for it , but I’m trying to diagnose cancer and keep people alive , so I can’t just say sorry it’s five im done. You do what needs to be done

There’s the dilemma
We all want our paperwork done
But it’s just not a priority for the Drs filling it in

full disclosure , my consultant who filled in my paperwork , I’ve been seeing privately and that probably helped me get it done quickly . He’s a full time NHS consultant who also does private work occasionally. He refused to take payment to fill in the form as he knows how important it is to my MH to get back to normal life.

i can’t imagine most GPs being so accommodating.
So to anyone reading this , make friends with your GPs as best you can and if you can them to do it quicker by doing it privately , consider doing it if you can . Make sure your Dr knows your well and that your trying to do everything you can to stay well.

if abstinence is required , do it and make sure you can prove it .
If passing a cdt or urine is important , just stop drinkng and smoking .
If you do you’ll not have to convince anyone of anything as the tests won’t be an issue .
If you can’t stop , get help , you have a problem

good luck to all

Does this mean I could pay my GP to do a private urine test? I have only seen ones online and it would take me 1.4 hours to get there and I obviously have no transport..

 

[Stephfan]

Hi Mittxx, have you recieved the paper work for you to book your medical yet? It should say on there what test they will do. Blood test or urine test or maybe both. Mine was just a blood test but i did abstain from smoking weed a month before the medical just in case they included a urine test (which is what they use for testing for drugs). A blood test is used to check your CDT levels for alcohol. If they do a urine test and you fail on that then you won't be able to apply for your licence again for another 6 months.

Hi I had a urine test for the DVLA on 01/08/2022.



After not receiving my results after 2months and phoning countless times. They have now told me when I phoned today, that they have sent a letter out to my house an I need to sign it to authorize them to contact my GP. I have not received this letter yet but what more could they possibly want. I relapsed abit too. An now it just even more annoying having to wait again!!



Does anyone know what to expect from the authorized letter onwards??

Will they ask me to another test ??

Does this mean I have failed??

 

[Stephfan]

Is it normal for your GP to be contacted before you are given a date for CDT test ?
My GP was contacted Feb and replied back but no date for CDT, My GP states no issues to drive and everything ties up with my D1 form.

DVLA have confirmed reciept but still no word for a test, called 4 times and reply is "Still in system"

Hi I had a urine test for the DVLA on 01/08/2022.



After not receiving my results after 2months and phoning countless times. They have now told me when I phoned today, that they have sent a letter out to my house an I need to sign it to authorize them to contact my GP. I have not received this letter yet but what more could they possibly want. I relapsed abit too. An now it just even more annoying having to wait again!!



Does anyone know what to expect from the authorized letter onwards??

Will they ask me to another test ??

Does this mean I have failed??

 

[Stephfan]

That normally happens when DVLA have some previous knowledge of you, not for first time HRO applications.

some people put their hopes in the value of prayer.....
your problem is that you would be clear of cannabis in a week from now, if you had given up 9 weeks earlier.
but seriously you are probably better asking that question on a stoner website rather than on here.

The only useful advice I can give you is to buy some test kits with a very low threshold of 15ng not some of the higher ones and you can check to see what your progress is so you do not do your medical while there is any danger of you failing.

Hi I had a urine test for the DVLA on 01/08/2022.



After not receiving my results after 2months and phoning countless times. They have now told me when I phoned today, that they have sent a letter out to my house an I need to sign it to authorize them to contact my GP. I have not received this letter yet but what more could they possibly want. I relapsed abit too. An now it just even more annoying having to wait again!!

I was passing home test kits at 15ng
And stopped smoking for 75 days 2months 2week..

Does anyone know what to expect from the authorized letter onwards??

Will they ask me to another test ??

Does this mean I have failed??

 

[dayamafor]

The DVLA are branding me an addict.

 

[Luna2000]

The DVLA are branding me an addict.

I think you need to tell us a bit more about why you are being 'branded' an addict?

 

[dayamafor]

They have told me they need to see if I'm abusing drugs because I took them, I'm not saying my benzos didn't make me drowsy, they were previous prescription benzos which I didn't have a current prescription for. forpc.onl minecraft pocket edition pc

 

[Guygibson]

I think you need to tell us a bit more about why you are being 'branded' an addict?

Wouldn't worry about it starting to think the dvla think we are all addicts jesus we are all human we all make mistakes not excusesing what we did but this waiting and ringing up is enough to put you on antidepressants if you wasn't already