The advice zone

How do I train for intensive care medicine?

Senior house officer training posts in intensive care medicine for three or six months are advertised regularly in BMJ Careers. Posts are either stand alone or typically as part of medical, surgical, and anaesthetic rotations. From time to time rotations that cover several different acute specialties are available--for example, accident and emergency, anaesthetics, intensive care, and acute medicine.

Not all posts that are advertised have been approved for training by the Intercollegiate Board for Training in Intensive Care Medicine or a parent royal college. Trainees who wish to undertake further training as a specialist registrar in an intensive care unit must have completed at least three months in an ITU post approved by the Intercollegiate Board for Training in Intensive Care Medicine.

I am due to start my house officer year this August, and I want to know if theres anything I can do during this year to show my interest in neurosurgery?

I am unclear if you will be starting the old style house officer year or the first year of the new foundation programmes, which are being launched nationally from August 2005. These are currently on pilot in all regions. If you are doing the old style year, it may not be too late to change …