Created

October 17th

Tags
IMT
Written by

Anum Rizvi

Reading time

5 min read

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

image

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.

Figure 1 - our IMT checklist available to download
Figure 1 - our IMT checklist available to download here
💡
Applications to IMT can be very competitive. Heres our Top Tips for a high scoring application: - Get involved in research projects that are likely to get published! - If its hard to find a project, get a group of friends and write your own systematic review or literature review on an area of interest! - Doing extra degrees like iBSc and PhD can help your application stand out! - Teach younger medical students during university and also during foundation program. Dont forget to get feedback! - Try to participate and get involved in leadership roles during university and foundation program. - Take part in audits and quality improvement projects!

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.

💡
N.B - acute care common stem (ACCS) is an alternative pathway which will be discussed in future blogposts.

For a visual representation of the pathway, see figure 2

Medical SpecialitiesGroup 1Group 2

Acute Internal Medicine

Allergy

Cardiology

Audiovestibular Medicine

Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Aviation & Space Medicine

Endocrinology & Diabetes Mellitus

Clinical Genetics

Gastroenterology Medicine

Clinical Neurophysiology

Geriatric Medicine

Dermatology

Infectious Diseases

Haematology

Neurology

Immunology

Palliative Medicine

Infectious Diseases (dual with Microbiology/Virology)

Renal Medicine

Medical Oncology

Respiratory Medicine

Medical Ophthalmology

Rheumatology & Tropical Medicine

Nuclear Medicine

Paediatric Cardiology

Pharmaceutical Medicine

Rehabilitation Medicine

Sport and Exercise Medicine

Tropical Medicine (dual Microbiology or Virology)

Chemical Pathology

Clinical Oncology

Medical Microbiology

Medical Virology

Occupational Medicine

Intensive Care Medicine

Figure 2 - The pathway
Figure 2 - The pathway

Wanna add to the discussion?

Give us your thoughts!