In this page:
- Section 2: What is Emergency Medicine
- Section 3: Is Emergency Medicine for me?
- Section 4: Why Emergency medicine is fantastic
- Section 5: A day in your life as EM registrar
- Section 6: A day in your life as EM Consultant
- Section 7: Your ED team
- Section 8: Recruitment and Training
- Section 9: Medical Training Initiative
- Section 10: Sub specialities in EM
- Section 11: Interview and CV
- Section 12: Courses and Postgraduate Exams
- Section 13: Visa and Living information
- Section 14: The Wall of Thanks
Section 1: Information about the writer
Emergency Medicine ST6- UK
Section 2: What is Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine is a field of practice based on the knowledge and the skills required
for the prevention, diagnosis and management of acute and urgent aspects of illness and
injury affecting patients of all age groups with a full spectrum of episodic undifferentiated
physical and behavioural disorders at any hour of the day or night.-1
Emergency medicine requires decisiveness, teamwork, resilience and excellent
interpersonal skills as well as a breadth of knowledge across all facets of medicine.
It is not for the recumbent or the weak-hearted.
Emergency doctors are trained to acquire specialist skills in resuscitation and diagnosis in
the acute phase of illness, sometimes working with limited information and in an uncertain
situation. They use their clinical and interpersonal skills to recognise the seriously ill patient
and identify clinical priorities, to lead the team in the initial assessment and resuscitation,
to Construct hard and difficult decisions in a time-pressured environment where the stakes
and emotions could be high, and to deal with uncertainty whilst best caring for patients and
relieving their symptoms, or helping them to maintain their dignity and humanity in their last
moments of life.
These are what form the challenges and the thrills of Emergency Medicine practice

Section 3: Is Emergency Medicine for me?
- Do you enjoy variety and excitement?
- Do you enjoy dealing with acute presentations from various specialities?
- Do you hate dull days and become bored by a repeated routine?
- Do you like
clinical challenge, quick thinking, action and teamworking ? - Do you like practical, hands-on clinical practice?
- Do you prefer a shift-based pattern of work?
- Do you like getting involved in a life or death decision making?

Section 4: Why Emergency medicine is fantastic?
- The Emergency Department is where the public go when they need
help. They value the service. Inreturn you have the privilege of
helping people when they are most in need. - You manage a wide spectrum of illness and injury, in patients of all
age groups, from all section of the community. - You see the ‘best bits’ of all the
specialties , as well those aspects of
their practice which cannot be described as such. Then you pass it
on! - There are no long ward rounds, having to deal with the same
patients, or sitting for long periods of times doing the same thing - The Emergency Department is the forefront of hospital practice.
- You work with a variety of different people with whom you share
team spirit and camaraderie. - Emergency Medicine attracts a wide variety of inspiring characters
and dynamic personalities. - There is a huge scope to develop a special interest in almost
anything you can think of; trauma, toxicology, medical education,
point of care ultrasound, medical education, hospital management,
etc
Emergency physicians thrive on challenge and change.
Section 5: A day in your life as EM registrar
Section 6: A day in your life as EM Consultant
Example of your Emergency Department (ED)Team: o Registrar ST4-6, o Middle grade, Associate specialist o ST1-3 o Staff nurse o Sister (female) / charge nurse (Male) o Nurse practitioner They have a great scope of practice and a wealth of clinical experience. § ENPs (Emergency nurse practitioner) see certain categories of minor’s patients. o EDA (Emergency Department assistant) o Physician Assistant
Emergency physicians work with patients of all ages & all presentations.
Section 7: Your ED team
o Consultant
§ ANP (advanced Nurse practitioner) ANPs see minors and majors.
Section 8: Recruitment and Training
Recruitment to the emergency medicine is on the high! UK has directly recruited many EM doctors from India who completed MRCEM. There are different ways to become a consultant in emergency medicine in the UK (please check the table below for comparison):
You may be applying to one of the following posts:
• Run-through training – Core Training – ACCS
• DRE-EM ST3 entry
• Higher Specialty Training
• fixed term (LAT, FTSTA)
• Academic Emergency Medicine
GMC Approved Training
1. Run-through ACCS
The straightforward entry point is the GMC approved
Common Stem (ACCS) with:
a. 18 months of Emergency Medicine and
b. 6 months of Anaesthetics,
c. 6 months Intensive Care Medicine and
d. 6 months Acute Medicine each followed by
e. 3 years of Emergency Medicine as Higher Specialty Trainee (HST).
It was not an option between 2013-2015 due to lack of positions in round 2 but started to appear again in 2016 and 2017. This will lead to a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) by the GMC.
National recruitment is an online application via Oriel website.
National Training website for ACCS
Two recruitment rounds:
1. Round one normally open August to November, interviews in January, job start in August.
2. Round Two normally open February, interviews March to April, job start in August
[/su_spoiler]
Non-Training posts
1. Trust-based schemes: several trusts (Hospitals/Health boards) started to have their local schemes with rotations in all necessary specialities to complete the competencies. Examples are Manchester Royal Infirmary and Derby Hospital.
2. Trust grade jobs: most trusts (Hospitals) now are willing to arrange for their non-training registrars to have secondments in other necessary specialities so they can complete their competencies. It is on an ad-hoc basis and usually after the registrar works with the trust for a considerable time.
Section 9: Medical Training Initiative
The MTI is a government authorised exchange under Tier 5 of the Points Based System
allowing overseas doctors to obtain training in the UK for up to two years.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s International Sponsorship Scheme offers
Emergency Medicine training opportunities within the MTI. Successful applicants can
obtain full GMC registration without taking the Professional and Linguistic Assessment
Board (PLAB) test.
Further information on
Section 10: Sub specialities in EMergency Medicine:
Many trainees choose to train in other specialties:
o Paediatric Emergency Medicine, For more information click here
o Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine, For more information click here
o Intensive Care Medicine For more information click here
Some choose to develop special interest in different field for examples:
o you can develop interest in Sports and Exercise Medicine
o Academic Emergency Medicine tings.
Section 11: Interview and CV
- The Interview
Once selected you will be contacted with details of stations of the interview and a list of documents you will need to prepare and bring with you to the interview. Common stations used in previous interviews for example:
1- Portfolio station (either you hand in your portfolio and it will be marked based on
the evidence you have or face to face discussion)
2- Prioritisation scenario
3- Clinical case discussion - Writing your CV:
Generally, if you are applying through the online system you will need to fill in certain sections (up to 20 pages) but an overall minimum CV should contain:
1- Name, address, contact details email and phone
2- Education
3- Academic awards and achievements
4- Employments history
5- Course
6- Audit and clinical governance activities
7- Research and publication
8- Special interests
9- References
Section 12: Courses and Postgraduate Exams
First: Courses:
Emergency medicine is a dynamic speciality which demands highly skilful, knowledgeable, updated and motivated doctor. There is certain life support, resuscitation and ultrasound courses which are considered to be the cornerstones
1- Advanced Life Support (ALS) which is adopted by the Resuscitation Council-UK
- This course should be taken in the first year of working in the Emergency Department.
- The provider certificate is valid for 4 years from the date of your course.
- For the doctors who are working in Ireland, it is recommended to take the American version of ALS which is known as ACLS -Advanced Cardiac Life Support.
- The course fee is about £485 but may vary slightly depending on the centre.
- Further information click here
2- European Advanced Paediatric Life Support –EPALS
- The European Paediatric Advanced Life Support (EPALS) course is a collaboration between the European Resuscitation Council and the Resuscitation Council (UK).
- The provider certificate is valid for 4 years from the date of your course.
- It is recommended that this course should be taken for all doctors who are working in Paediatric emergency departments.
- The course fee is about £485 but may vary slightly depending on centre
- Further information click here
3- Advanced Trauma Life Support -ATLS (American College of Surgeons)
- ATLS® program can teach you a systematic, concise approach to the care of a trauma patient. The course teaches you how to assess a patient’s condition, resuscitate and stabilize him or her, and determine if his or her needs exceed a facility’s capacity.
- It is conducted in the UK by the Royal College of Surgeons
- The Fee is £600 British pounds but may vary slightly depending on the centre.
- Further info click here
4- Training in point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS)
Now a days Ultrasound is an elementary skill for the emergency physician. For example, Shock and Pneumothorax are diagnosed and treated by the ultrasound.
Thus, the Royal College of Emergency Physician included the Ultrasound in the training curriculum.- From 2010, the higher
specialty curriculum for emergency medicine incorporatedPoCUS as a mandatory element. This means that from 2013 trainees need to be signed off at CORE level prior to CCT being awarded. - For further information click here
- One of the approved courses by the college is Bromley Core Ultrasound Course, Bristol Emergency Medicine Ultrasound (BEMUS) Fee £375 Pounds.
Second: Examinations
From August 2016, the College is introducing a new suite of examinations, mapped to the Emergency Medicine 2015 Curriculum. Success in all components leads to the award of Fellowship by Examination (FRCEM).
The changes to the examination structure will be phased in during a two-year period to permit trainees and other candidates the opportunity to complete the existing suite of examinations.
From August 2016, the Fellowship examination will consist of the following components:
FRCEM Primary Examination, replacing MRCEM part AFRCEM Intermediate Certificate, replacing Part B and Part C
And consists of:
- 1-Short Answer Question Paper (FRCEM Intermediate SAQ)
- 2-Situational Judgement Paper (introduced from Autumn 2017)
- Critical Appraisal (Short Answer Question Paper)
- Quality Improvement Project (QIP)
- Clinical Short Answer Question Paper
- Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
The College continues to offer Membership (MRCEM) for candidates who have passed all the following examinations:
FRCEM Primary (or MRCEM Part A between 1 August 2012 and 1 August 2016 or granted exemption)FRCEM Intermediate SAQ (or MRCEM Part B between 1 August 2012 and 1 August 2016)MRCEM OSCE (previously called Part C. Passed after 1 August 2012)
For more information, check the RCEM examination section
Section 13: Visa and Living information
- The regulation change very frequent. Better always to check the website on regular basis see link below
- The overall idea is non-UK or non-EEA nationals with limited leave to remain in the UK, whose employment will require a Tier 2 visa, are subject to the Resident Labour Market Test and would only be considered for appointment if there were no suitable UK or EEA national (settled status) candidates for the post.
- You will need to apply under skilled worker category also called Tier 2 General (up to 3 years) https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/overview
- The fee you would expect to pay is:
Who you’re applying for |
Apply (outside The UK) |
Extend or switch in the UK |
Extend or switch in person in the UK (premium service) |
You | £575 | £664 | £1,164 |
All dependents | £575 each person | £664 each person | £1,164 each person |
Up to date information is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration
Pay scale UK:
- Speciality Registrar from ST1 onward: (30,302 – 47,647 plus 50% on top banding)
- Non-training registrar jobs can either follow the above pay scale or sometimes be
offered under SAS pay scale (37,547 - 50,391) which has no banding and based
on the number of programmed activity (PA) each equal to half day (4 hours) which
can be negotiated (https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/pay/sas-payengland).
Living cost (UK):
- Generally living in the south west of England is cheaper than the north and south-east.
- Moreover, Scotland and Wales have better support from a social welfare point of view.
- Big cities are more cosmopolitan and provide options for food, schools, transport and entertainments. London, Manchester and Birmingham airports are the main hubs for airlines with flights to Khartoum.
Due to the nature of the emergency medicine, working in an ED mandate either you live close to the hospital with a walking distance that is safe at 4 o’clock in the morning or you buy a car. Getting an agreement with a taxi company with a discounted fare can be an option for some time but significantly costly in the long run.
Tax System (UK)
Very complicated system be careful you are paying the right tax amount and check your
payslip regularly. Detailed information here:
https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/tax/tax-guidance
Child care (UK):
You will have several options for childcare:
- Nursery
- Childminder
- Aupair
- Nanny
- Further information on please click the following link
https://www.bma.org.uk/connecting-doctors/my_working_life/b/weblog/posts/a-working-parent-stips-for-childcare
Rent a Flat:
These estimate based on 2-bedroom flat
- London area and big cities: £750 and above Per calendar month
- Outside London and big cities £500 and above
Section 14: The Wall of Thanks
It is my great honour to work with this group of dedicated and enthusiastic Sudanese
Emergency Medicine doctors. Without them, this document would not have been possible.
I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the content
of this document:
1. Dr Zafir Ahmed
Consultant in Emergency Medicine- UK
2. Dr Ahmed Abdalla Zeinelabden Elmagzoub
Registrar of Emergency Medicine, Mercy University Hospital-Cork, Ireland
3. Dr Dr.Mutaz Eltayeb
Emergency Medicine Registrar - Mercy university hospital- Ireland
4. Dr Ahmed Eltahir O Ali
Emergency Medicine ST4- North West deanery-

Although the information contained in this guide should be fairly accurate, and every effort has been made to check Its details. However, it is possible that some errors have been missed or that some information may have been revised. The information provided by this website is believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication.