Greenknight,
Both doctors and nurses give up the majority of their clinical duties to pursue such high ranks in the defence medical services.
Both would have spent years in non clinical command posts including staff college.
They are not front line clinicians.
The doctors and nurses who elect to stay in clinical posts in the roles that you describe would never be in the running for such high ranking jobs.
Hippo
Last edited by hippocrates; 28th Jun 2013 at 15:19.