To feel like this is so unfair?

[Seventytwoseventythree]

Bit of a rant really.

I’m a junior doctor, I have been working in the NHS for 5 1/2 years. Work 60 hours most weeks with around 5 hours of that being unpaid overtime. Work regular weekends and nights. I’ve got three degrees and spend a lot of my free time at courses and writing papers etc to better myself. My CV is looking pretty good and I’ve worked hard on it. I generally like what I do but it is bloody hard and yes I know I am paid well
compared to the national average, but it’s not the £££ that people seem to think, I have a budget just like everyone else.

Our training contracts are fixed term, my current one is two years. This is common across the specialties e.g. GP training is fixed three years, some higher registrar training is five years etc. There are no permanent jobs until you become a consultant unless you leave the training scheme, and then you don’t progress.

I’ve just found out that my specialty of choice will not have a training job for me to progress into when my contract ends, and likely not the year after either. So I can either move to a completely different city and apply there, try for a different speciality (which I probably won’t get given I’ve worked hard on this one), or just do A&E Locums until a training position comes up. It’s not a niche speciality either, there will be doctors doing it in every hospital.

I’m aware that plenty of people have it worse but I just feel really let down and upset. I’ve spent ten years and huge amounts of time and money getting to where I am now, and now it looks like I won’t have a job when my current contract ends. To add insult to injury there’s no proper information available as it all depends on funding so no one can tell me when or if there will be a job.

Furthermore we are TTC and looks like we are going to have to stop because I will be out of a contract and not entitled to mat leave/ pay despite my 5 1/2 years NHS service.

Not really sure what I’m hoping to gain from posting. I just feel like I’ve given the NHS so much and I’m now being let down at a pretty key time in my life.

No advice, but that sounds terrible! You would have thought the NHS would be trying to retain doctors, not make them jump through hoops to stay in a job.

I suppose every hospital needs a variety of specialists. Have you chosen a really oversubscribed specialism? Is there anything remotely related you could do which might enable you to shift over in the future? I don't know anything about medicine and the NHS though so sorry if that's not a thing!

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately it’s the entire region that won’t have a training job I.e. nowhere within a two hour drive 😩

It's grim, I'm sorry. The NHS treats its staff so badly. No thought to people's lives and families.

Adam Kay's book is full of stories like this.

@Seventytwoseventythree you have my sympathies, it's shit isn't it? Are you coming to the end of CMT/CST?

My specialty of choice is perenially very over-subscribed. I ended up moving to a completely new region for ST3 as it was that or stay in trust grade jobs, potentially indefinitely. I know we're fortunate to be in a career where we'll always be able to find work of some kind, but having to move every couple of years throughout training is, quite frankly, shit. And national applications, where you have little to no control over where in the country you'll be allocated, are a nightmare - especially if you have a partner who can't just pack up their job to come with you, or kids to think about.

What specialty are you going for?

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately it’s the entire region that won’t have a training job I.e. nowhere within a two hour drive 😩

Thanks for the sympathy everyone. I had a good rant and cry to my husband who is sympathetic bless him.

@Syncope Yes that’s right. Don’t really want to give details as would be outing as my friends know about it. My husband is very supportive and says we’ll move if needed but we’ve finally managed to buy a flat and it’s starting to feel much less ok to move across the country for a job compared to when I started when I was 25. He would have to change jobs as well and it just doesn’t seem fair that we should have to go through this. Feeling a bit sorry for myself at the moment. I think this might be the end of the tether of what the NHS has put me through. If there really isn’t a training job I might need to look outside of medicine which is a real shame.

I recently read 'this is going to hurt' and was totally shocked about the conditions NHS workers suffer especially regarding the working hours unpaid and level of stress in a sort of if-I-don't-do-it-there's-nobody-else-here-who's-qualified/trained-to. I found the whole book a real eye opener so I can sympathise with your situation. It does seem like, as an NHS employee, you're not cherished in the way you really deserve given your hard work and loyalty. I'm sure you've thought of every option but it's a bit terrible they can't offer some sort of rolling contract until a position comes available??! I wish you the best of luck!

They should plan better. It isn’t a surprise that x number of people are going to be needing to move from one phase of training to the next.

I would apply everywhere and move to wherever you can get a job. It isn’t unusual for junior doctors to need to move around while training.