MB Camb 1957, BChir 1956; FRCGP 1974.
Metcalfe gained his medical education at Cambridge and Liverpool. He spent ten years in general practice before being appointed honorary teacher in general practice at Leeds University in 1966. From 1970 to 1972 Metcalfe was assistant professor in family medicine at Rochester University, New York. On his return to England, he became senior lecturer in the department of community health at Nottingham University. In 1978, Metcalfe was appointed professor and head of the department of general practice at the University of Manchester. He held the appointment until his retirement in 1992 when he was made emeritus professor.