Women outnumber men as medical graduates

Women pursuing a career as a doctor now outnumber men by almost three to two, according to research published yesterday.

The poll, conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA), found that 58 per cent of doctors graduating from medical schools around the country in 2006 were female - up from 51 per cent in 1995. The poll also highlighted that there was a need for funding flexible training schemes for those working in the NHS.

Dr Jo Hilborne, chairman of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee, said: "The medical workforce is changing rapidly and the NHS needs to wake up to the needs of its staff. It's not just the fact that more and more women are entering - all staff should have the right to work-life balance."

The survey comes just before the BMA's annual conference, which begins tomorrow in Torquay, where the issue of funding for flexible training schemes for junior doctors is likely to be high on the agenda.

The Government has already taken steps to cut the hours that doctors work. Under the European Working Time Directive, they are no longer allowed to work for more than 58 hours, which must be further reduced to 48 by 2009.

The poll of 435 doctors found further evidence of the looming crisis in medical training, with more than one in 10 doctors saying that their desire to practise medicine on graduation was either "lukewarm" or "weak".

Fewer than one in five said at the time of the survey that they were confident they would automatically get a job on completion of their training.

Dr Sarah Blayney, 24, in her first year of work after graduating, is working at Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral. She said: "The training jobs as they stand are all or nothing. You either do all the hours or don't get the post.

"I want to pursue a career in hospital medicine, which will mean me committing to a minimum of five years of fairly hefty on-calls."

The survey also found that most junior doctors were in debt when they graduated, with the average owed being more than £20,000. The highest level of debt was said to be around £80,000. Trainee doctors are also getting older; the average age when entering the medical profession on graduation is 27, compared with 24 in 1995.

The 435 graduates polled will be monitored for a further 10 years by the BMA.

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