How long is the process of studying medicine?

[f0od]

(My question is based on the Monash medicine course)

I know that the Monash medicine course runs for 5 years, and 2/3 out of the five years are spent clinically training. However, I'm not sure what happens after those 5 years – do you continue to intern for a number of years before you can finally become a doctor or are you already able to become one? Sorry if this question is kind of silly, I'm just a bit confused on the total number of years it takes to become a fully working doctor (and I think it takes a few more years if you want to become a specialist right?)

[vox nihili]

(My question is based on the Monash medicine course)

I know that the Monash medicine course runs for 5 years, and 2/3 out of the five years are spent clinically training. However, I'm not sure what happens after those 5 years – do you continue to intern for a number of years before you can finally become a doctor or are you already able to become one? Sorry if this question is kind of silly, I'm just a bit confused on the total number of years it takes to become a fully working doctor (and I think it takes a few more years if you want to become a specialist right?)

What happens afterwards is really heterogeneous. You start work as a doctor straight away, although your responsibilities are limited. As time goes on they become more and more expansive. The vast majority of people will end up on a training programme where they learn to be a particular kind of doctor. They still work whilst they're learning, but you sit exams etc.

How long that takes depends on the speciality. Often it takes a few years of doing general work to get accepted into a training programme in the first place, and then some training programmes take longer than others. For a physician, the average age at which someone becomes fully qualified is about 40.

[excal]

Monash is 3 years of clinical training across the board.

Basically, the traditional career progression after graduation is this:
Intern - 1 year

Resident (basically, internship without the training wheels) - for as long as it takes to get onto specialty training, 2-4 years seems common, but 5+ years is not unheard of especially in competitive specialties. This is probably going to get longer and longer now the tsunami has hit this grade. Unaccredited registrars fit here as well, except with their added level of responsibility. You could call this level career purgatory, and you wouldn't be far off the truth...

Registrar - these doctors are on their respective specialty training program. Duration variable depending on specialty and personal progress, anywhere from 3-6 years minimum.

Consultant - the fully qualified specialists (yes, GP is a specialty)

There are some deviations to this, but they're a bit more idiosyncratic and increasingly less common. There are also non-traditional career options too.