Genitourinary medicine (GUM) is a specialty dependent on non-consultant career grade (NCCG) doctors. The NCCG covers a range of grades, which include associate specialist, staff grade, hospital practitioner, and clinical assistant. Other non-standard grades can include trust grade, hospital assistant, and clinical medical officer, etc. (However, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) only includes associate specialists and staff grades in their definition of NCCG.) These posts can range from a single session to full time. Clinical background varies widely, which can positively enhance the diversity of clinical skills within the GUM team.

It is recognised that NCCGs do a significant proportion of the clinical GUM work. Data from the Association of Genitourinary Medicine (AGUM) in 2000 suggested that 592 doctors undertook 1685 GUM clinical sessions each week in the United Kingdom. More recent unpublished data from the GUM NCCG Group have confirmed that at least 419 doctors are working in the specialty as NCCG doctors, of whom 34 …