The state of medical education and practice in the UK

Download the 2020 report (pdf)

Foreword and executive summary

Foreword

2020 has tested the resilience of the health system and those who work in it. The fortitude of the workforce has been rightly lauded, with remarkable levels of public support.

Experiences of this time have not been uniform, for patients or for the profession. But clinicians, system leaders and policymakers can all agree that coronavirus (COVID-19) has left its mark, and will continue to do so.

The picture is complex, and we’re only part-way through this pandemic. But clear lessons have already emerged, and we owe it to doctors and the patients they care for to apply them...

Read the full foreword
Executive summary

This year's report

Text reads "1. The state of medical practice"

Chapter 1 – The state of medical practice

Doctors have experienced significant and rapid changes to their personal and professional lives as a result of the pandemic. ‘The Barometer survey 2020’ uncovered the widespread impact that the early stages of the pandemic had on doctors’ day-to-day working lives.
Text reads "2. The state of medical education"

Chapter 2 – The state of medical education

The pandemic has had a significant impact on formal medical education. In response, April rotations were cancelled for all doctors in training and a new post (FiY1) was created for some 2020 medical school graduates to join the workforce early.
Text reads "3. The changing medical workforce"

Chapter 3 – The changing medical workforce

The medical workforce continues to grow, with a record rise in the number of licensed doctors between 2019 and 2020 (5%). From 2012 to 2020, the number of licensed doctors grew by more than 14%. The UK medical workforce is increasingly ethnically diverse.
Text reads "4. Learning from 2020"

Chapter 4 – Learning from 2020

Despite the overwhelming cost – to personal health and society – of the pandemic and its impact on healthcare professionals’ safety and mental health, the response of the medical profession and the system more generally has been very impressive.

Case studies

Alongside the data and research we include in 'The state of medical education and practice in the UK', this year, we present 13 case studies in which doctors describe their experiences during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Read the case studies

Barometer survey

We commissioned IFF Research to conduct an online survey of doctors: the barometer survey.

The survey was first run in 2019 and was designed to contribute to the overall The state of medical education and practice in the UK narrative to allow us to report on changes in doctors’ career intentions, experiences in the workplace, and frequency of adaptations to pressurised environments.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the key research questions were adapted for the 2020 research to explore:

  • the impact of COVID-19 on doctors’ working lives
  • doctors’ experience of working in a ‘system under pressure’ and the impacts of this on patient safety and doctor wellbeing
  • doctors’ satisfaction in their working life and drivers for this
  • likelihood to make career changes in the next year, including likelihood to leave the UK medical profession.
Read the barometer survey report (pdf)

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Data tables

Previous reports
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