Pre-registration house officer (PRHO) is the title given to medical graduates in the UK who have passed their final year exams at medical school and have received their medical degrees but are not fully registered with the General Medical Council. PRHO is the lowest grade in the medical hierarchy in the National Health Service. Traditionally, PRHOs worked for six months in general medicine and six months in general surgery, after which the PRHO would be granted registration by the General Medical Council. Following changes in postgraduate medical education, the PRHO year forms the first year of Foundation Training (F1 Year), and trainees will spend at least three months in general surgery, three months in general medicine, and the remainder of the time in training posts in other specialties.

Although the PRHO year is taken after graduating from university, the supervision of the PRHO is the responsibility of the medical school from which the PRHO graduated, and a representative of that medical school is responsible for signing the registration forms which go to the General Medical Council to certify that the PRHO year has been completed successfully.

See also

• Senior house officer

Medical education | National Health Service