JUNIOR doctors are set to vote on whether or not they should take strike action in a dispute over pay.
But how much do junior doctors earn and how can you become one? This is what we know.
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How much do junior doctors earn?
The pay received by junior doctors is dependent on experience.
During foundation training, doctors will earn a basic salary of between £29,384 to £34,012 per year.
A doctor beginning their specialist training will earn between £40,257 to £53,398 a year.
Are junior doctors going on strike?
Junior doctors are voting on January 9, 2023, over whether they should take strike action.
If they vote in favour of taking action, the strikes will take place in March 2023 over a 72 hour period.
If this happens, it will be the first industrial action taken by doctors since 2016, where four periods of action led to around 300,000 appointment and operation cancellations.
Junior doctors will not provide emergency medical care across England if this is voted in.
Around 45,000 members of the British medical association (BMA) are being balloted, with the results set for the end of February.
The current pay agreement for junior doctors ends in March 2023.
The government says increasing pay in line with inflation is unaffordable.
The BMA have urged the health secretary, Steve Barclay, to meet with the organisation in order to negotiate a deal to avoid strike action.
The BMA said junior doctors in England have seen a real-term pay cut over the past 15 years, which amounts to a 26.1% decline in pay since the tax year 2008/09.
How do I become a junior doctor?
A junior doctor is a qualified doctor in clinical training.
They work under the supervision of a senior doctor.
The first step for any person wanting to become a doctor is to study medicine at undergraduate level.
After completing their studies in medicine, they then move on to two years of integrated training.
These are known as foundation year one and foundation year two.
To practice as a doctor in the UK, you must have completed the two year programme of general training.
