NHS should welcome doctors' desire for career flexibility, GMC says

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Doctors are increasingly seeking career flexibility and this should help reduce burn-out and dissatisfaction, a report has said.

Growing numbers of doctors are moving away from the traditional postgraduate training model and instead opting for less linear career paths including training breaks and part-time work, working as locums, researchers, SAS and locally-employed doctors, according to the General Medical Council’s annual report on medical education and practice.

The findings reflect the trends exposed in data from Health Education England which showed a big shift to career breaks over the last decade.

The GMC says this should not be seen as a “threat” to workforce stability as these choices increase the chances of doctors staying to work in the UK.

The GMC says the UK’s medical workforce is growing overall. Last year there were 296,182 doctors licensed in the UK, an 18% increase in five years. Two thirds of those joining the register qualified outside the UK.