Why are Doctors LEAVING the NHS? 😨

In this video, we speak to medical students from across the UK about their insights as to why junior doctors are increasingly leaving the NHS. This video is a controversial one, but we think it's extremely important for aspiring medics to have a realistic insight into the current state of the NHS - the good and the bad.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:50 Who is a junior doctor?
01:17 Inadequate Pay
02:32 Long Hours
03:25 Burnout
04:23 Broken System
06:11 Lack of Job Satisfaction
07:09 Lack of Support
07:36 Competitiveness
08:51 Moving around the Country
09:23 Lack of Perks
10:03 Private Sector Benefits
10:46 Bullying and Abuse
11:58 Moving Abroad

ULTIMATE APPLICATION GUIDE FOR ASPIRING MEDICS

JOIN OUR ASPIRING MEDIC COMMUNITY

WHO WE ARE
The Aspiring Medics is the UK's leading platform for aspiring medics providing first-class personal statement reviews as well as academic and interview tutoring. With over 80,000 users in the last 12 months and over 2 million impressions on Google, we are the #1 platform for aspiring medics. With over 40+ expert tutors in our team including Oxford, Cambridge and UCL as well as a 98% success rate amongst our students, we're here to help YOU succeed in the medicine application proceed. Making today's aspirations, tomorrow's achievements.

CONTACT US
☎️ Whatsapp us on [phone]

[shivamsharma]

Man, studying to become a doctor is hard enough, and now being a doctor is getting harder, not that it was ever easy lol

[hannahpennell]

As a mature (33) UK Medical School applicant, I found this video extremely honest and informative. These are all valid problems and I hope that one day it will change. It does not put me off the profession, but at least I am prepared. I'm glad I found your channel.

[thebadguy]

My advice to those considering to be doctors or nurses etc. Don't do it.
Go bring your intelligence, skills, knowledge and hard work somewhere else where you can be proud of your work and be rewarded rightfully for your efforts.
I wish I had realised this earlier before entering the profession.

[rchlletters]

This does not seem controversial at all, just reasonable and necessary to say if the UK wants to have retention of healthcare workers.

[neilcreamer]

Seriously, young doctors, if you have the opportunity to move abroad, take it. The UK is on the brink of a colossal economic crash and I think what you’re experiencing are simply the factors which are leading to that. It will not improve. There’s no money left. We’ve printed so much that it’s approaching worthless.

[lesleyhubble]

I hope I never get so sick I have to go to hospital, it’s terrifying knowing that the doctors are tired and most probably struggle to do there job; I don’t blame them if they leave, they deserve better. We deserve better

[Yelluz]

I tried to take an MRCP test paper one night when I was drunk. I didn't even understand the questions, let alone answer them correctly. Massive respect for all medical professionals and the service you give for the benefit of others.

[xavier]

I'm currently in 6th Form studying Biology, Chemistry and Math, and I can say this for sure that the competition is absolutely carzy, 1) you need A*AA 2) Need to take the UCAT and BMAT exams 3) Do extra activities that will make your personal statement really stand out, all these factors make it so hard to even study medicine in the UK in the first place .

[srinivas]

Its almost the same scenario everywhere. I did my junior residency at a government medical college in India . We used to get paid around 400 pounds per month and it used to be credited once in 4 months. The patient load in India is very high and doctors are understaffed. Govt said we will get COVID 19 incentives for the extra time hours but we never got any.

[MyBlargh]

Almost identical issues in the ambulance service. After 4 years of frontline work, I’m emigrating to Australia for exactly the reasons you’ve mentioned.

[GraceMarieBarry]

This is such a fantastic and well thought out video! So much respect. All the doctors I work with in ICU do a week on and a week off, 13 hour shifts, it’s an insane toll on them.

I’m a nurse who left the UK in 2018 and now work in Australia, my wage here is incomparable to my UK wage and before the pandemic we were very well staffed. You all have to look after yourselves until the UK government can address this! It’s so sad because y’all are incredible

[bluefishtutors]

It's a similar situation in education. I did my PGCE in secondary education in 2019 and many students on the course were thinking about their exit plan. It baffles me why doctors and teachers are so underpaid. People outside will just shrug their shoulders and say the pay is decent. Failing to appreciate the insane number of hours put in week in, week out, leaving no room for a social life. What a lot of people also fail to appreciate is that workers in the public sector are not bound to the state and can leave anytime. We're free individuals and there is literally a world of opportunity out there for teachers and doctors and nurses

[SonyTene]

The NHS needs a complete revamp, there’s too many negatives

[davidwillis]

I'm a 4th year (31yo) medical student in the UK and it isn't worth it - hope this review helps. These are a few of my thoughts regarding the video, which is well presented, thank you. Just a few points i want to make...
Inadequate pay, no one will ever be happy no matter how much they're compensated for their labour. And I’m not saying they aren’t underpaid, undervalued, and over worked.
On competitiveness, yeah those who go the extra mile get ahead. Leaving the unprepared behind, and I’m a 50% is the pass rate, good enough for me student haha. So, I will experience this. Then again, it isn’t acceptable to create extra places without creating the extra jobs with an aging workforce currently ready to retire with no planning in place to prepare to replace them.
Bullies are everywhere, and the grass is greener on the other side? No, you’ll leave the hands of one bully into the next, solution, there really isn’t one?

[khaledMohamed-tpwx]

I haven't left the NHS yet, but I'm working towards it. The main reasons for me are:

-The extreme lack of interest of the NHS system in medical research (a big part of becoming what I am now was to be able to get involved in high level medical research that can make an impact on my field similar to what you can find in the US across many centers of excellence).

-The pay (although slightly higher than the general population), is extremely low for how long and how hard the training and the job is. Compared to the US, Canada, Australia, and other, the pay is a joke.

-Accessing the NHS services as a doctor is another joke. I cut my finger and needed stitching and I had work on the next day so it needed to be fixed ASAP. Of course that didn't matter and I had to wait hours for a simple stitch and dressing and of course next day appointments were canceled. And don't get me speaking about dental. Recently I have met someone who is a partner of another person that works in the railway service, they get 90% discounts on any tickets for any train. In the NHS, sometimes we get free Americanos (twice a year maybe).

-The NHS is old and weathered. In the US during my research fellowship, I felt I was in a different planet. There were robots moving things around in the hospital and they have set paths and if you step in the path of one, it stops and tells you to step away. Obviously that's just an example of how technology works in American hospitals, extrapolate that into medical services, operation theatres, scanners, etc...

-English people can be buttholes sometimes, but that's not the fault of the NHS 🤣😅

[zkfnd]

A junior doc, in Nepal is paid around 180 to 260 GBP a month. Now, you might think that the cost of living is low....well nope....
A small tea shop seller, who only sells tea makes upto 600 pound a month after cutting all expenses....
Honestly, I am thinking of opening a tea shop...haha

[IndusbeautyMUA]

This is the same for those completing thier PGCE. Many trainee teachers were leaving the profession before even completing their training. The reason we're similar to medical students and junior doctors. We teachers, including trainee teachers worked so hard during the pandemic and not even once did the government acknowledge our effort and dedication to the profession and children.

[SolPhantasmagoria]

_Paramedics feel the same way, many of us has just qualified after three years of the most odd educations we will ever likely to see, and we're already becoming jaded and burnt out._

[Shattered-Realm]

Why I left:

1) 40 hours is a a week is a absurd joke. I was doing 11-12 hours a day 5 days a week and + 2 weekends on call each month (each weekend is 24 hours on paper but actually more like 30 once you factor in the morning ward round or evening handoff) On average that was 70 hours a week at least. (The 40 hours per week is averaged annually they arrive at this number by giving you a day off here and there or a week extra off between rotations) it sound good but you're doing superhuman work weeks/months on end and then your break is over way too soon.

2) back in 2015 for this work I was paid about 2200 pounds after tax. considering how many extra hours I worked for free, A cashier at Tesco earns a competitive hourly rate (1200 pounds for 40 hours a week) With double shifts at Tesco and mayby some overtime pay you can probably earn 2000+

3) You can forget literally everything you learnt in medical school. You will be the consultants bitch ordering and chasing all his blood tests and imaging. including manually writing in blood test by pen into the patients files. You will also be harassed by the nurses to write ALL the fluid requests, rewriting cardexes, getting ALL the Venflons and ALL the blood draws and ALL the discharges done (IDL) You're medical knowledge is completely unnecessary you just need 1) a good bit of manual dexterity for bleeding the patients, 2) a strong back (to not get back aches from bending over the patients non stop) and hearty wrists (to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome from all the mad scribbling of blood results and manual writing/rewrting)

4) Zero support. If you don't know how to do something that's your problem. Someone may show you how to do it once but if you're still struggling with a particular skill it's your problem.
If you're struggling to complete an insane amount of tasks on time the ward doesn't need an extra doctor you need "better time management skills"

Every fucking day I had to get up at 6:30 AM I'd leave the hospital 6-7 PM despite technically being on duty untill 5 PM I'd return home at 8:00 PM just in time to cook and eat dinner collapse by 10 PM and try to sleep until 6:30 the next day. Work life balance was non existant and I had 4 fucking days a month off (2 weekends) If I had to endure that any longer (I lasted 2 years) I'd consider slitting my throat.

[DocGoku]

Well As a doctor from India what you are complaining is about is something just we can wish for ....The Residents/ junior Doctors in most of clinical branches of our country work more the 100+ working hours and the no Overpay for night duties or extra hours also there is risk of getting beaten, literally 😅