The advice zone

Got a career or university related problem that needs answering? Can't find the right person to point you in the right direction? Log on to the Advice Zone at www.bmjcareers.com/advicezone to post a question or to see if one of our experts has already solved your problem

Is it advisable to study for a clinical master of science degree between finishing a preregistration house officer year and starting a senior house officer year?

Taking time out to complete a masters may be beneficial later when it comes to applying for a national training number in your chosen specialty. The bottleneck in career progression nowadays is at that level so extra qualifications are important in ensuring that you manage to get onto the shortlists for national training numbers.

If you have the opportunity to do this after completing registration it will not harm your career to do a masters, since you will not damage your chances of getting a good senior house officer post and it may well improve them.

It is important that the subject of the masters degree that you plan to do compliments any firm ideas that you may have at this stage about the field that you ultimately wish to specialise in. If you are not set at this stage on a particular specialty, taking the time to do an masters may help you with this decision.

The only downside is possible cost; do you have or can you get funding? I do not recommend studying without funding, as you may find opportunities for research in the future which are funded.

Howard Clark, MRC registrar and Sp R in paediatrics, John Radcliff Hospital, Oxford

What does a medical writer do?

Medical writers may write books, technical articles, education programmes, public health and social marketing programmes, advertisements, newsletters, newspaper articles, educational videos, audio programmes, internet sites, multimedia, clinical research documentation, conference reporting, information for patients, and many other things. Many medical writers are also medical editors. The main skill is tailoring complicated medical information to the reader's needs, be they a specialist, general practitioner, patient, or other audience. The size and complexity of the task may vary from a paragraph to an encyclopaedia.

Ronald Mccoy, medical writer and educator, Australia

What are the current options and scope for a career in applied genetics and gene therapy in the United Kingdom?

At the moment there are three broad branches to careers in genetics either as a scientist, a counsellor, or as a clinical geneticist. As a medic, you would be aiming for a career as a consultant geneticist. At the moment the training is broad based in all aspects of clinical genetics, from prenatal genetics through dysmorphology to adult and cancer genetics. In some centres the consultants subspecialise. Within clinical genetics, theoretical knowledge is applied to clinical situations advising families and patients with genetic diseases.

In everyday practices, gene therapy is not an issue as it is mainly research based and is not clinically applicable. The clinicians with most experience of this will be paediatricians specialising in metabolic medicine where some trials have been undertaken. It is unlikely that clinical geneticists will be involved in gene therapy in the future, and more likely that specialists dealing in metabolic medicine will be involved.

For further information about training in clinical genetics either visit the website of the British Society of Human Genetics (www.bshg.org.uk) or read http://bmj.com/
cgi/content/full/323/7320/S2-7320

Fiona Lalloo, consultant in medical genetics, Manchester

This is a difficult question to answer objectively. Overall, I would recommend you do your travelling now, then return for a year of study, passing any exams and getting stuck in to the internship years without distraction. It is more difficult to travel at that stage, when interruptions can have an adverse effect on career progression.

Most doctors working in infectious disease and tropical medicine would view your CV (with an intercalated year and a year of overseas work) as more interesting than the average, and you would stand out at short listing well into your senior house officer years. However, you will also need to be able to defend your career pathway at interviews and not all consultants will be so enthusiastic.

One way to maximise the return on your travels is to make sure you publish your experiences; the studentBMJ is an excellent target. Some medical school journals also like this sort of article, and lay journals may also be relevant, depending on what projects you are doing overseas. There may be a research element that could be written up for other journals. Take opportunities as they arise

Nick Beeching, senior lecturer in infectious disease, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

I am a medical student who wants to combine teaching with my regular career as a doctor after graduation. Where can I get information and what should I start thinking about?

I assume you are referring to teaching at a medical school. The beauty of a medical degree is that there will be many opportunities for teaching. You may teach at an undergraduate level or even at postgraduate level (for example, to surgeons in training, if you decide on a career in surgery). When you qualify, no matter what specialty you eventually choose, you will be involved in teaching on a day to day basis.

The best way to get involved in undergraduate teaching as a medical student is to be a student representative in your school (if such a post exists). When you qualify as a doctor, you will be teaching undergraduates on a daily basis. From there, it is best to affiliate yourself or your work with a university hospital, and then in time apply to be a faculty member.

Teaching does not merely involve day to day contact with students. More formal teaching and at university level needs detailed planning, curriculum objectives, feedback, targets, setting, invigilating, and marking examination scripts. The best way to get further information is by speaking directly to the lecturers and professors at your medical school.

Eric Lim, specialist registrar in cardiothoracic surgery, London