Lessons · Medicine foundations · the postgraduate years, and why the number is not the same everywhere
The postgraduate years, and why nobody can tell you the number
Boards require a period of accredited postgraduate training before a full licence is issued. How many years is set by each state, and within a state it is frequently a different number for a graduate of a domestic school and a graduate of one abroad.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a physician. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
This is the single figure people most often carry from a friend and most often get wrong, because it is quoted without the two things that decide it: which state, and which door you came through. Somebody who plans on the number a colleague gave them can finish training and find the state they are moving to wants another year. It is also the requirement that is hardest to fix late, because it is measured in years rather than in paperwork.
How to think about it
Look the figure up in the state you intend to practise in, in the row for your own category, and write down the source and the date you read it. Then check it again before you commit to a move, because this is the kind of rule that gets amended. How many accredited years does THIS state want from somebody like me? Boards set these rules themselves and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here, from a colleague, or from a summary written in another year.
Worked example
Accredited training is requiredThe accreditation matters as much as the time served.
The number of years is the state's to setIt is not a national figure and there is no single right answer.
It often differs by where you trainedDomestic and international graduates are frequently given different numbers in the same state.
Measured in years, so it cannot be fixed quicklyWhich is why it is worth confirming before a move rather than after one.
Your turn
Name what decides how many postgraduate years are required, besides the state.
The number depends on the state and on where you
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Taking the number from a colleague. It is one of the few requirements that genuinely differs between two people standing in the same corridor. Boards set these rules themselves and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here, from a colleague, or from a summary written in another year.