To think the BMA have misjudged with another doctor's strike?

[Locutus2000]

Last year they got more than anyone else in the NHS along with an improved deal. Nurses and other AHPs received lower rises.

BMA have just announced another 'resident' doctor strike continuing to chase pay restoration to 2008 levels.

Having just had the major win with changes to IMG prioritisation and the clamp-down on PAs it feels a bit tone-deaf and I can't see Streeting going for it.

@Marchesman no 30% of applicants,

You aren't sticking up for "young doctors", you are supporting a minority who are bringing the profession into disrepute, and you are unaware of reality.

Show me.

Also a 90s/early 00s junior Dr. I can certainly agree that more leadership courses are not helping anyone. More on the job training is what is required. I think the supposedly improved 2016 rota is ruining training opportunities with excessive compensatory rest.

I have had many very good hardworking trainees who were a delight and a pleasure to work with but also some very tricky ones who made my life a lot harder and it was those ones who were obsessed with pay, T&Cs, exception reporting and trying to wring every bit of time away from work out of the system. My last inpatient job when I had 3 of the latter type all at once finished me off for training (they would all be fighting about whose need not to work on a Friday was the greatest between academic time, health adjustments and childcare all surprisingly more prevalent on a Friday) and I have no desire to be a trainer at all now beyond a bit of ad hoc teaching.

This would be very poor behaviour from a supervisor. And unethical.

Simple arithmetic. Turnout on the ballot for strike action was 55%. 90% voted in favour. So the percentage of resident doctors belonging to the BMA who voted for strike action was

,55 x .9 = .495 or 49.5%, a minority

Then there are the approximately 20% of resident doctors who do not belong to the BMA, according to the BMA, and are not allowed by law to support the strike.

So over all resident doctors the percent supporting the strike is

.495 x .8 = .396 or 39.6%

BMA: The ballot, which ran from 27 May until 7 July, saw a turnout of 55 per cent, almost 30,000 (29,741) votes cast with 26,766 of those participating endorsing the use of strike action as part of efforts to restore pay.

Just reminding everyone about how many residents voted in this ballot. Looks like a self-selecting group. If you took part (55% residents), you supported strike action (90% did). It is worth mentioning when people are referring to residents as a homogenous pro-strike group.

My figures above were in reference tovthis post.

Obviously it was a flippant comment (I don’t have any current trainees so the joy of signing those forms is no longer mine) and I try to keep my political views to myself at work.

Although I will say that it’s a bit sad that being a staunch supporter of the NHS is something that one has to keep quiet about whilst working for the NHS!

Cross post!

Two minds with a single thought!

You don’t have to keep quiet. Of course not. You just don’t let different political views of a resident affect your grading of workplace-based assessments and ARCPs. It’s not that difficult.

Make that three.

Thankfully I have only come across a tiny number of these types, and indirectly so. They seem to spend more time writing indignant emails than anything else, and copying the world and his wife into them!

Figures for speciality training will be out in October for 2025. But BMA pole has come out so far with the 30% figure - we can see the reality in a few months.

Meanwhile many many doctors will be unemployed on 6th August.

And obviously I would not. It was just a jokey flippant comment.

Yes exactly. Those ones. They do exist and I would not be remotely surprised if the people interested in medical politics are those kind of Drs.

Let’s do a pole here as so many consultants. How many of your F2s applied and how many got a number ? Which specialities ?

Was just talking to a consultant friend who says problem with psych training numbers is the MSRA and no interview. And so if just want to get a job in UK it and GP are easier to get into as don’t need to prove any interest at all. That’s so sad. As a teacher crying out for CAHMS every day we need so many more psychiatrists.

@ThePure I don’t know any doctor interested in medical politics - they are all far too busy doctoring and living. But they would still like a pay rise as promised by Wes last year, with his road to FPR. Still hopeful talks will work next week. No one wants to strike.

Ours didn’t apply. One going to Australia and one taking a year off to locum and travel (we only have two, that’s obviously our department not the whole foundation programme).

Interestingly lots of IMTs doing the same, and currently 5/35 of my registrar training programme are on career breaks (NOT parental leave or research - an actual career break while they re-think their options). And then tonnes of them on less than full time for lifestyle reasons (no kids yet).

There are a lot of very unhappy resident doctors at the moment, pay aside.

Don’t have any F2s so can’t comment on that
When I did have trainees they were FY1, CY and ST

It has always been true of psych as well that a lot of people from overseas will apply just to get a job in the U.K. and hope somehow to be able to transfer to something they really want later. U.K. grads largely don’t want to do psych despite whatever promotion the RCPsych does. It is stigmatised and not seen as ‘proper doctoring’ I guess we make it easy to apply to get bums on seats as it’s better to have some Drs than no Drs.

Some v unhappy doctors it is true. How on earth did it get this bad ? Thanks for replying.

@ThePure DD did psych as an F2 and really enjoyed it. She had also done it as her elective. Think it will always be in the back of her mind.

I agree with every word of this. I really think the future of the NHS is in the balance. Waiting lists have just started to come down. These strikes put that trend in jeopardy.

Don't forget the BMA opposed the creation of the NHS because they felt it jeopardised their income and had to have their mouths stuffed with gold.

This move is straight from that playbook but could end very differently this time

Well if she (or any other nice non whiny Drs) need a job then I am pretty sure that jobs in psych will always be available especially outside of London.