Need Info on becoming a Podiatric Surgeon in the UK!

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Hi Everyone,

I am a podiatrist who graduated in Australia and have now been working for 4 years. I recently moved to the UK and am very interested to look into the steps involved to become a Podiatric Surgeon. I do have a few questions and would much appreciate input from those who have gone through the experience themselves. Most of the post I've read similar to these questions are from 2007-2010 so they are a bit outdated. Hope you can help!

There is a total of 11 questions. If you can please answer with the number bullet points next to it, that would be much appreciated.

- Questions on Master Degree:
1. I noticed there is a 1 year full-time Master Degree course called Theory of Podiatric Surgery provided at University of Huddersfield. There is also a 3 year part-time course called Master of Podiatric Surgery at the same university. I want to do the 1 year full-time one (1st option) - is this the right course to do or must I do the part-time 3 year course?
2. How difficult is it to pass this Master Degree - as in what's the pass rate like?

- Questions on Podiatric Surgeon Trainee:
3. How many clinical hours does a trainee have to do to qualify? In Australia, we had to do 1000 hours before graduating to meet the requirements of becoming a registered podiatrist.
4. Also, it is difficult to get the clinical hours under a podiatric surgeon? I read that you need to do a interview to become a trainee for a Trust and then keep a logbook to record all your clinical hours.
5. Do you get paid during this time? I think I read that it depends on the Trust you work with. However, I read a post in 2007 and there were many comments on a lot of trainees not getting paid.
6. Do most people finish the trainee part within 3 years or does it take much longer? I read on the College of Podiatry (UK) that it can take up to 6 years to finish the trainee part. Is it that difficult to finish it within 3 years?
7. Do you have to do a lot of on call work? I know lots of medical trainees do during their final years.
8. How difficult is the research part of the trainee course? I read again on the College of Podiatry that all trainees "must complete one research or an audit study of publishable standard". With all the clinical hours, do you get any help with completing the research part - as in do you have a supervisor who can help you with completing the research?

- Questions on Podiatric Surgeon:
9. What's the employment like as a Podiatric Surgeon - as in does most Registrar find it easy to get a job?
10. Is there good employment prospects in London?
11. Can I use Podiatric Surgery qualification from the UK in Australia? How easy would it be if I do want to practice as a podiatric surgeon in Australia?

Thank you very much to everyone who put in the time to answer my questions. I am sorry it is so long, but I am trying to gather as much as information as I can.