The state of medical education and practice in the UK Barometer survey 2023

Published 8 August 2024

Why we commissioned this research:

Every year we report on The state of medical education and practice in the UK. We use our data, wider research evidence, and analysis to provide comprehensive insight into the profession.

The Barometer survey is one of the key sources of evidence that underpins our report. The survey runs annually and seeks to gain evidence of how doctors’ experiences of practicing in the UK are changing. This informs our work to support doctors and address the challenges and pressures they are encountering.

What did the research involve?

The questionnaire, as in previous years, covered doctors’ satisfaction in their working lives, career intentions over the next year, experiences in the workplace, and adaptations to pressurised environments.

4,288 doctors currently working in the UK completed the survey between 12 September — 20 October 2023. To ensure findings are representative of all licensed doctors, weighting was applied using GMC population data on age, ethnicity, registration, and place of primary medical qualification.

Key findings

  • Across key measures, 2023 survey findings showed some slight improvements but remained largely consistent with the concerning levels seen in last year’s survey. 
  • Around half of doctors are satisfied with their day-to-day work (53%), which in line with 2022 (50%), but this remains much lower than the proportion reporting that they were satisfied in 2021 (70%).
  • The proportion of doctors at high risk of burnout has decreased slightly since 2022 (21% in 2023 compared to 25% in 2022) but remains higher than in 2021 (17%), 2020 (10%), or 2019 (16%).
  • There has also been a slight reduction in the proportion working beyond their rostered hours (from 70% to 66%) and feeling unable to cope with their workload at least once a week (from 42% to 38%).
  • While the vast majority of doctors enjoy their interactions with patients (83%), more than two in five (43%) report finding it difficult to provide patients with a sufficient level of care at least once a week. 
  • The proportion of doctors taking hard steps towards leaving the UK medical profession (16%) is at its highest since the barometer survey started in 2019.

Full report

Download The state of medical education and practice Barometer survey 2023

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