Qualifications

You may have wondered what all those letters on the brass plate at the door of the surgery actually mean! Here is a brief description of the professional qualifications of the doctors working at Well Close Square.

• MB Bachelor of Medicine: this is the first part of the standard medical degree, acheived after five or six years university study.
• ChB (Scotland) or BS (England) Bachelor of Surgery: the second part of the medical degree.
• LMCC An alternative standard medical degree.
• DRCOG Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaeclogists: this recognises special knowledge in this specialist area.
• Dip Ther Diploma in Therapeutics: this recognises special knowledge in the area of prescribing and therapeutics.
• FPA Cert Certificate of the Family Planning Association: shows extra training in the knowledge and skills required for the provision of a full family planning service.
• VT Certificate of Vocational Training: awarded to all doctors who undergo vocational training for general practice. This is now compulsory.
• FRCS Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons: the postgraduate qualification obtained by all consultant surgeons.
• MRCP Member of the Royal College of Physicians: the postgraduate qualification obtained by all consultant physicians.
• FRCP Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians: A special award by the Royal College of Physicians, in recognition of excellence, usually awarded to consultant physicians.
• MRCGP Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners: the postgraduate qualification for specialising in general practice, often obtained by a GP registrar before entering general practice as a principal.
• FRCGP Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners (by assessment): This is a special award given by the Royal College of General Practitioners based on the provision of an extremely high quality of medical care. It is based on a rigorous assessment of the doctor's work, and although awarded to an individual doctor, it is a reflection of the quality of care provided by the practice as a whole. There are currently only 100 doctors in the world who have achieved FRCGP by assessment.

As you see, as well as the standard medical qualifications, the doctors have a wide range of expertise both in general practice and hospital medicine. It is certainly unusual to see such a wide range of qualifications in one medical practice - in fact, Well Close Square is probably unique!

Brad Cheek 2000