examination separately from or instead of a university degree. In the English provincial cities, some medical schools developed separately from the new Redbrick universities, so the Conjoint diplomas were at first usually taken. Armed forces officer cadets would be promoted from second lieutenant to lieutenant on qualifying, which included the conjoint qualification. The difference in pay between the times of the two exams would more than pay for the entry fee, and seniority in the officer corps was enhanced by those few months. The conjoint diploma of the London Royal Colleges (Royal College of Surgeons of England and Royal College of Physicians of London) was more reputable in its day, but after World War II, it was regarded as a practice exam before university finals. It provided a safety net in that medical students unsure whether they would pass or fail would have two chances if they took both. By far the greatest use of the Conjoint and similar qualifications in recent years was as a means for foreign medical graduates to obtain British qualifications, which eased their problems of obtaining registration and employment in the U.K., and also made it easier to go on to work in third countries. The scheme of examinations included a notional full set of pre-clinical subjects (anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, etc.) from which those who had university passes or another final medical qualification would be exempted: but fees might still have to be paid. The closure of this portal, along with the recent recategorisation of junior doctors from student to worker status for immigration purposes, may hasten the changeover of the National Health Service's dependence from Third World medical graduates to European Union doctors, who may not be asked to submit to further examination. These subtleties of the British system of medical qualifications were rarely known to patients, who may have been more impressed to see "MB BS MRCS LRCP" on a brass plate than "MD FRCP". Academic degrees of the United Kingdom Medical education in the United Kingdom Medical degrees