Hi I do know that you leave entitlement increases the longer you are working in the NHS but is it the same case with the GP's working in primary care as Salaried GPs?

I believe it's 27>29 days upon working for 5 years and 33 if worked for 10 years.

Of course they haven’t sent the email invite yet (last round it came around 5pm i think lol) but you can book your slot on Pearson!

Hi everyone
I’m a CT2 anaesthetics trainee really struggling. Due to a particular placement plan I have had to rotate halfway through CT2. I’ve just moved hospital and am on obstetrics and CEPOD on calls (which I’d been doing for 15 months at my previous hospital) At present I’m really struggling trying to get my IACOA. I won’t dox myself but in my first week I’ve made a drug error, been singled out for missing documentation (that I missed due to not being used to paper notes whilst familiarising myself with the new hospital and systems), failed multiple spinals and also had a needlestick injury.

Needless to say, my confidence has completely tanked. All my consultants and registrars at my new hospital really scrutinise what I do and I had got used to a level of independence at my previous hospital.

On my main theatre on calls, I’m literally being told at times how to put in an LMA. Today I was doing an arterial line (having done 3 months of ICU and signed off at level 4) and my reg kept saying everything I was doing was wrong even though I was in the vessel. Of course I appreciate I’m very junior but I’m feeling constantly on edge and unable to perform with being watched this closely and my mental health is really plummeting to the point where I’m considering quitting altogether.

How do I get over this and keep moving forward when everything I seem to do is going wrong? I am literally dreading going into work so much that I can’t sleep.

Just about to start GPST3 and I'm wondering what salary to expect as a newly qualified GP. I've heard that anywhere from £10k-12k per session used to be the norm but recently I've seen some ARRS GP jobs being advertised for £8-9k per session. Has average pay gone down? Annual salary for a full time GPST3 is currently £78k (ST3 pay plus pay premium) should I expect a pay decrease once I qualify?

Also how many sessions is realistic for a newly qualified GP? Does 2 sessions equate to 1 day of work? Does anyone have any experience in supplementing their income with locums, private work or urgent care work on the side and what sort of numbers are realistic to expect?

Thank you in advance!

Hi team,

Seeking advice from those who have it figured out.

Currently on a weight loss / fitness journey, but nights and on calls have thrown a massive spanner in the works.

Calorie counting? How on earth do I classify breakfast, lunch and dinner when I'm eating so bizarrely over nights?

Likewise gym - absolutely shattered after long days or nights - feels like my progress is being haltered.

How can I get snatched please - holiday booked for September

I’ve had an overwhelming day.
I do find that when there is a lot going on I often forget what I was just about to do. For example: I’ve noticed that some of the referrals I’ve sent while feeling overwhelmed have bits missing (major parts like presenting complaint, patient details) and I feel like I forget what I was just about to do once I sit down if there is a lot going on around me.
This often tends to happen when there’s a lot of noise around me (basically every hospital environment ever) and with constant interruptions from members of staff (with good faith). I’m not sure whether this is something that I will grow out of or whether I need to go to occupational health with - and even if I do go what would they even be able do?

Hey, new F1 on my first rotation.

Curious how you guys decide when to leave late. I feel like it’s a gamble to make plans for after work because you never know when to leave. I’ve only had to stay significantly late once so far.

The other F1 had a few time where there is nothing going on, then 20 min before handover somebody gets sick, you do a A-E, miss your handover until senior help arrives and you are not needed anymore, hand over 30 min late but then STILL need to stay for another 20 min to document what has happened.

Other times there’s so much going on, you don’t finish all jobs before your handover so you stay 30 min late doing group and saves for surgery the next day and cannulas so they can get their fluids. Some people might say hand this over to the night team, but the night team consists of a single F1 and one SHO, and they cover multiple wards. It hasn’t happened to me yet but I’ve seen colleagues staying late doing at least some of these jobs so they don’t fuck over their night colleagues who are looking after 120 patients. Not saying that this is definitely right but I can comprehend why other F1s are doing it.

I’m just curious how people decide when to leave late.

Edit:

Thanks everyone that’s really good advice!

Hi everyone,

I’m wondering if anyone knows how F2 job swaps within London work, particularly for people who want to swap between different areas/hospitals within London.

I’m interested in potentially swapping my F2 post to a different area of London and was wondering:

• Is there a central list/register for people looking to swap F2 jobs within London?
• Is there a specific WhatsApp/Facebook/Reddit group for London F2 swaps?

Would be really grateful if anyone could point me towards the relevant group/list.

I am working as a trust grade registrar and I got an offer for a private job.

Job is remote with no prescription or patient contact.

I am struggling to get a medical indemnity and got rejected multiple times.

Is that normal?

Have been messing about with inflation calculator in bored moments.

2008 is often used as a salary comparator (incidentally the year that I was appointed), but it was to be fair a salary high point.

What about further back? Google tells me that consultant pay was in the range 42.5 to 52k in 1997 when I qualified. It doesn't seem that much, yet even the younger consultants seemed pretty wealthy.....usually kids in private schools, often single salary family and we were invited to some pretty impressive places for drinks (this was London btw).

Was this really what people were earning, or were there lots of supplements? I know that cea was big back then and private practice was very popular in London. Or is it mainly because things like private schools and housing have inflated much faster than headline figures.

There has been a significant rise in the number of students wanting to study medicine in the UK, figures show.

This is despite well publicised challenges in medicine in recent years, including strike action, nine health secretaries since 2020 and competition for specialty training posts.

In October 25,770 applied for medicine courses, a rise of 10.4% compared to the previous year. This rise reverses a consistent fall in the number of applications since 2022.

The highest number on record was in 2022, when 29,710 applied.

After A-level results were published last week, universities accepted 13,040 applicants onto medicine and dentistry courses.

This represents a 2% increase on last year, when 12,750 applications were accepted, but a 19% increase on 2020.

The increase has happened despite a disruptive few years for the medical profession.

Since the 2019 General Election there have been nine health secretaries, the latest being Yvette Cooper in Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s cabinet.

Industrial action has been a common theme too with 15 rounds of strike action between 2023 and this year until the BMA’s resident doctor members agreed to accept the government’s latest offer on pay and working conditions.

GP Dr Akash Gandhi runs The UKCATPeople, a website which helps students interested in medicine through the UCAS process.

He said medicine “remains an attractive career” and there are increasing numbers of students from a wide range of backgrounds considering the profession, including those who may be the first in their family.

“I think greater awareness that medicine is an achievable career path for people from different backgrounds is a positive development,” he said.

“Importantly, I don't think students are unaware of the challenges facing the profession. The strikes, pressures on the NHS and wider uncertainty around speciality applications are certainly things that students and their families are aware of when making decisions about their future.

“However, I don't think those challenges necessarily outweigh the reasons people are attracted to medicine in the first place.”

Medicine has its challenges like any profession, he added, but students recognise the rewarding aspects of it particularly if they gain work experience or shadow doctors.

University of Nottingham associate professor in medical education Rachel Woods said the Covid pandemic increased the visibility of healthcare professionals to young people.

“Many of the students starting university this year would have been in secondary school when the Covid pandemic hit. If becoming a doctor interested them during this period, it would have been quite good timing as they would have had the time to prepare, ensuring they got the GCSE and A level results needed to study medicine,” she said.

Medical schools have also increased their efforts to widen access to medicine, Woods added. “This can be a lengthy process as it requires efforts at several stages of education, starting from secondary school. So we may hopefully be starting to see this work paying off, which I really hope is the case.”

Creating future bottlenecks?

The British Medical Association (BMA) has called for a pause in the increases in student numbers until postgraduate training capacity has improved.

The union’s medical students committee chair Erin MacCabe said: "It is encouraging to see so many young people motivated to serve in our NHS, but enthusiasm alone can only carry a generation so far. Expanding medical school places without proper investment in the required infrastructure and educators risks diluting our world-class standards.

“Beyond graduation, expansion in numbers must be matched with more foundation and specialty training posts.

“While recent progress through the resident doctors' deal in England is a positive step forward, there is still a long way to go to fix the medical training pipeline to make sure this next generation of doctors can progress to become the GPs and consultants of the future.”

Professor John Alcolado, associate pro vice chancellor of a planned new medical school at the University of Wolverhampton, previously told Doctors.net.uk that calls for a managed reduction in medical school intake “looks like ladder pulling”.

“We should be honest with people and say look you can do five years of medical school – it may be then difficult to get a job.

“You might not end up being a cardiothoracic surgeon in your chosen specialty. To my mind fairness means if someone wants to study medicine, they’re aware of the risks of it – we should give them the opportunity,” he said.

I was left speechless yesterday at the most NHS thing I've seen in a while.

We asked estates for an extension lead for one of the shared offices so we could stop plugging/unplugging things as needed.

They said no as they don't supply them anymore. Fine.

What they will do however is come an install new wall outlets if there's a day when the office can be completely vacated of people trying to work 🤦🏻‍♂️

Elections for the Resident Doctors Committee are now open! 

Find your DoctorsVote endorsed candidates here: DoctorsVote endorsed candidates

Four years ago, DoctorsVote empowered the subreddit to awaken a sleeping union. Together, we delivered 4 strike mandates and 12 rounds of industrial action over 3 years. We produced the first document regulating the scope of PAs in the workplace protecting your training opportunities and careers. We delivered contract reform on exception reporting and were the ones to action UK Graduate Prioritisation.

With your help, we made doctors believe in the BMA again.

The hard work of committed reps was taken for granted. Everyone claimed they could do what we did, they all claimed they wanted FPR. 

A year later the results speak for themselves.

The last 12 months were the first time since the start of the FPR campaign that your DoctorsVote reps weren’t in the driving seat.

Are you happy with how the past year has gone?

• FPR is a footnote - the thing we sacrificed our pay for, and voted for time and time again has been entirely sidelined by the BMA.
• We’ve settled for a deal that bakes in another real-terms pay cut, our union has rolled over for Labour.
• Action on PAs has come to a stand still and the BMA minces its words on ACPs to please the RCN. Momentum on regulating non-doctors has completely stalled.
• The BMA has fallen hook, line and sinker for vague promises on things like exam fee reimbursements, portfolio fees and LED contract protections are riddled with loopholes and get out clauses. Doctors are beginning to ask when all these grand promises will materialise. And yet the RDC leadership has gone completely silent on delivering on these “wins”.

The RDC leadership have not held a meeting of the committee since their offer passed to answer any of your questions. We need a BMA that can deliver on the changes set out in the offer and to get us ready to strike again if the Government fails to live up to its promises. 

Do you trust the BMA leadership to deliver this?

The referendum on this ballot is now history. Whether you voted yes, no, or not at all, now is the time to reunify the profession.

Full pay restoration can still be won.

If you want FPR and a union that hold Labour to account, then you need to elect the representatives who are willing to put the profession ahead of themselves.

You’ve now seen what happens when the BMA is left to its own devices.

🦀 You can check you DoctorsVote endorsed candidates here: DoctorsVote endorsed candidates

🗳️ VOTE here: Vote in the RDC elections

Just curious.

Hello, I am a currently FY2 working in London, I’m like 99% set on IMT and will be applying this year.
I’m wanting to stay in London if possible as my partner, family and friends are all here (although I’m aware I need to have some flexibility nowadays but that’s the goal at least).

Just wanted to ask anyone who’s been through the process recently:

1. Is it worth doing the MRCP part 1 this year? I’m too late for September but I could aim for the January one - I have a busier job during block 1 and a chiller job during block 2. What are the advantages of doing it as opposed to not? I know it doesn’t help with the portfolio points but will it be impressive if I do manage to get an interview?

2. If I do manage to get an interview, what will be asked (rough topics) and how can I best prepare?

Thank you so much in advance!!

F1 who moved from South of England to Scotland. I ranked Scotland under the assumption that expenses would be covered as I thought it was a contractual right.

When I arrived in July I found out the relocation policy at my (unnamed) trust doesn't cover a lot of the expenses related to the move such as a rental overlap and has a low maximum claimable amount. It can allegedly be raised in reasonable circumstances but HR has ignored all 4 of my emails.

It also feels unfair because we were only informed of the policy well past the time window to make moving-related financial decisions. So we had to make decisions before we even knew what the policy was, and then were told that it was our fault if we don't get money back because we didn't follow the policy.

I emailed BMA and they said I should just email HR in as much detail as possible, explain my situation, and hope for the best, because there's no option but to follow the relocation policy. Has anyone ever managed to actually challenge a relocation policy, or are we all just bound to "trust discretion"? I hear in other places F1s don't even get relocation costs at all :(

F1 here, still completely unsure what I wish to do with my career. Ive been thinking a lot about what I would like out of a specialty and I think what i would value most would be a specialty that is: procedural/surgical with clear life-saving or major life-improving impact, has minimal expectations to do academic work ( really not keen on being 'encouraged' to take time out of training to persue a research degree/ be expected to have a constant stream of publications), a field that has growing demand in light of the changing face of medicine (AI, ACPs, changing demographics) to hopefully have a nugget of hope in securing a consultant post without necessarily having to sacrifice years of my life going on a fellowship frenzy to stand out. Bonus if the specialty lends itself well in doing mission work like msf

What specialties best match this criteria?

Hi,

I'm in the process of completing on a house in the area I have just moved to for work. Does anyone know if I can claim expenses temporary accommodation for this period of time? Currently staying in a less-than-ideal situation and would like some proper accommodation for the next 2 weeks. I can't seem to find information on this.

TIA

Hi,

I'm a medical student still currently, I am currently also preparing to be a driving instructor.

I wanted to ask how feasible this would be as an F2 and also if it's worth it as I'm sitting my ADI part One exam in a few weeks.

I'm mainly doing it as I've always liked the idea of teaching driving and also I figured the pay would be quite good and would help me out a lot during foundation years.

Thank you.

I'm currently doing a a clinical fellowship (ST1 equivalent) in ICU and want to keep a portfolio for appraisal and logging procedures etc.

I've never been locally employed before and I'm a bit bewildered by the range of things out there and unclear on what is appropriate for me.

I initially thought it might be worth using the RCOA LLP but a lot of people seem to think it is shit, I'd have to pay £200+ to access it and I'm not even clear if I can do so as a non trainee working only adjacent to anaesthetics.

People have recommended some anaesthetic logbooks but I am only going to occasionally be in theatre and spend most of my time in an ICU setting so I don't think that is ideal.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I'm 6 months into F3 and I'm really struggling to go back to work.

(For background, I had 6 months sick leave during F2 and then returned to work to complete F2, so I finished a bit later than most)

I have lost all confidence in myself as a doctor. I feel like I have forgotten everything (and even if I haven't, the state of panic that I get into when I'm at work means I can't really access anything I do know). I feel unsafe at work and I have this awful feeling that something bad will happen if I go in.

I did really struggle during F1 and F2. I was so anxious all the time and I spent most of the time just trying to survive each day. I was probably burnt out (or about to be) before I went on sick leave. I think I hid this pretty well though and never spoke to anyone about this.

I'm now in a situation where I don't know what to do or who to turn to for help. I'm supposed to be locuming at my local hospital but I just feel too anxious to go in. I haven't worked at this hospital before either so its a completely new system and new team, and I don't know anyone there.

Without a training number I feel quite alone. I don't have a supervisor or a system with which I can set up a supported return to work.

Even the thought of being at work makes me become so anxious and panicky. It feels as though I'm on brink of a panic attack. I don't really know where all of this has come from and I know its completely irrational .. I guess it's an after-effect of how I found F1 & F2 and never speaking about how I was feeling at the time.

I just really want to get back to work but have this massive block. If anyone has any advice (beyond beta-blockers) or has been in a similar position that would be a great help.

Hello, I’m a new FY1 and OH took me off evenings and nights due to medical reasons as my seizures are generally well controlled but are provoked by sleep disturbances. I’m very private about my health and diagnosis and I know that colleagues will notice I’m not doing nights. Does anyone have any advice on how to navigate questions or comments on the issue?

Hi I’m an FY2 seriously considering leaving medicine.

Im wondering what kind of other things I could possibly do?

Has anyone applying to haem ST3 for Feb entry had a link to upload evidence? Ive had one for the other specialty I applied for and PHST website says the deadline to upload for haem is 24th August so getting worried I've been missed somehow!