ABSTRACT
The purpose of postgraduate medical education must surely be to educate and train the doctors who are required by the NHS. The NHS Plan is committed to joint training for all healthcare professionals in non-clinical generic skills (e.g. communication). A prerequisite for entry to either a clinical or medical oncology specialist registrar training scheme is general medical experience and passing of the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) examination. The term 'cancer specialist' embraces many different specialties. Some, such as clinical oncologists and medical oncologists work exclusively with cancer patients. The majority of medical and clinical oncology trainees would like more joint training, resulting in the ability to treat many common cancers with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Medical oncology is a relatively new specialty which developed from general medicine and clinical haematology. Consultants tend to practise in oncology centres.
