How to become a specialist medical practitioner or consultant
Official title: Specialist medical practitioners and consultants
Also called: Consultant, Medical consultant, Consultant surgeon, Hospital consultant, Consultant physician, Associate specialist, Specialist-registrar, Medical acupuncturist, Consultant oncologist, Haematology consultant, Orthopaedic consultant, Consultant intensivist
Specialist medical practitioners and consultants specialise in particular areas of modern medicine, diagnose mental and physical injuries, disorders and diseases within their specialism, prescribe and give treatment, recommend preventative action, and conduct medical education and research activities
Main tasks
- Examines patient, arranges for any necessary x-rays or other tests and interprets results
- Diagnoses condition and prescribes and/or administers appropriate treatment/surgery
- Administers medical tests and inoculations against communicable diseases
- Supervises patient’s progress and advises on diet, exercise and other preventative action
- Provides specialist advice to generalist medical practitioners or other specialists
- Performs specialist medical tasks such as surgery, anaesthetisation and diagnostic or interventional radiology
- Prepares and delivers lectures, undertakes research, and conducts and participates in clinical trials
- Takes overall responsibility for, supervises and directs the implementation of care and treatment plans by other healthcare providers
How to become one
Entrants require a university degree from a medical school recognised by the General Medical Council followed by two years of pre-registration training as a house officer, and further postgraduate training in a chosen speciality. Some medical schools operate graduate entry schemes.
Ways in
- University: Medicine & Dentistry degrees, Offered by 21 universities in the UK
Pay · Outlook
- Median full-time pay: £92,847 a year The middle half earn £67,335 to £136,100.
- About 192,500 people work in this job now, and about 211,000 are projected by 2035. (+9.6%)
Related jobs
Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz
Questions people ask
How do I become a specialist medical practitioner or consultant?
Entrants require a university degree from a medical school recognised by the General Medical Council followed by two years of pre-registration training as a house officer, and further postgraduate training in a chosen speciality. Some medical schools operate graduate entry schemes.
How much does a specialist medical practitioner or consultant earn in the UK?
Median full-time pay is £92,847 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £67,335 to £136,100.
Is a specialist medical practitioner or consultant a growing career in the UK?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 10% by 2035, from about 192,500 to about 211,000 people (Department for Education).
Do you need a degree to become a specialist medical practitioner or consultant?
Usually. 93% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.