How to get to grips with Internal Medical Training (IMT)

1) What is Internal Medical Training 2) What do I have to do to get there? 3) An overview of the pathway

What is Internal Medical Training?

Internal medical training (IMT), previously known as Core Medical Training, is a 3-year training programme for graduates progressing from the foundation training programme preparing them to gain necessary skills to become a medial registrar.

IMT training typically involves several different rotations where trainees get the chance to explore a wide range of medical specialities, as well as gain exposure to a variety of trusts and hospitals with varying structures.

What do I have to do to get there?

Your application will be assessed in three main stages: 1) Longlisting (mainly foundation competence and minimal experience), 2) Shortlisting, and 3) Interview.

At the shortlisting stage, it will be judged whether you will be invited to an interview. The scoring system for this stage is done by self-assessment, encompassing a range of additional achievements, publications, presentations, leadership opportunities, QI and teaching. You can check out the full scoring system here, however we've put together a handy checklist on our PAMSAdownloads page where you can tick your achievements off as you go along.

An overview of the pathway

Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (MRCPUK) exam is normally undertaken by trainees prior to completion of their IMT training as it is a requirement before application of specific speciality training. Upon completion of IMT, trainees receive Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) and can apply for training in their medical areas of interest such as cardiology, neurology, geriatric medicine etc.

IMT is followed by entry into group 1 speciality combined with internal medicine training, comprising a dual CCT. In other words, 12 months of internal medicine will be integrated into speciality training leading, to trainees achieving a dual CCT.

Please note that some specialities (See table 1) can be accessed after 2 years of completion of the IMT training. Therefore, applicants are advised to check whether their desired speciality of interest requires the full 3 years of training. These are known as the 'group 2' specialties, which do not have 12 months of internal medicine training integrated as part of their speciality training.

For a visual representation of the pathway, see figure 2

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