ArticleBMJ open2016
'You can't be a person and a doctor': the work-life balance of doctors in training-a qualitative study.
Article in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
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- Psychiatry in transition: an assessment in the context of societal change.Annals of general psychiatry · 2026Article
- The question of geographic regionalisation of Irish surgical training-a Trauma and Orthopaedic surgical trainee perspective.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- Fertility, family planning, pregnancy and motherhood among women doctors working in the EU and UK: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Choosing regional, rural, and remote practice: what attracts or deters early-career doctors?BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Addressing the 'python' crisis affecting medical specialist training programmes: organisational frameworks and interdisciplinary insights.Internal medicine journal · 2025Review
- Guilt in the Context of Work-Family Conflict, Partner Support, and Life Satisfaction Among Health Professionals.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Work-Life Imbalance: A Challenge and an Opportunity for Neurosurgery.Neurosurgery practice · 2025Article
- 'What is 'wellbeing' to doctors in training, and how do we improve it? Results of a quantitative survey and thematic analysis of internal medicine trainees.Future healthcare journal · 2025Article
- Enablers and barriers of General Practitioner's choice of additional skills training: a mixed-methods study.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- The unseen costs of medical training in the UK: a growing crisis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Woman or surgeon - Not both: Perceptions of support, enablers and barriers in general surgery.Surgery open science · 2024Article
- Enhancing wellbeing in medical practice: Exploring interventions and effectiveness for improving the work lives of resident (junior) doctors: A systematic review and narrative synthesis.Future healthcare journal · 2024Review
- Induction Implications: Shaping the Competence and Confidence of Junior Doctors Within Complex Medical Specialties.Cureus · 2023Article
- Gender Differences in North American and International Otolaryngology Clinical Practice Guideline Authorship: A 17-Year Analysis.The Annals of otology, rhinology, and laryngology · 2023Article
- Surgical Education: Disparities in Education May Impact the Quality and Likelihood of Completion of Training.Clinics in colon and rectal surgery · 2023Review
- How do the post-graduation outcomes of students from gateway courses compare to those from standard entry medicine courses at the same medical schools?BMC medical education · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesInvestigate the work-life balance of doctors in training in the UK from the perspectives of trainers and trainees.
designQualitative semistructured focus groups and interviews with trainees and trainers.
settingPostgraduate medical training in London, Yorkshire and Humber, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and Wales during the junior doctor contract dispute at the end of 2015. Part of a larger General Medical Council study about the fairness of postgraduate medical training.
participants96 trainees and 41 trainers. Trainees comprised UK graduates and International Medical Graduates, across all stages of training in 6 specialties (General Practice, Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Radiology, Surgery) and Foundation.
resultsPostgraduate training was characterised by work-life imbalance. Long hours at work were typically supplemented with revision and completion of the e-portfolio. Trainees regularly moved workplaces which could disrupt their personal lives and sometimes led to separation from friends and family. This made it challenging to cope with personal pressures, the stresses of which could then impinge on learning and training, while also leaving trainees with a lack of social support outside work to buffer against the considerable stresses of training. Low morale and harm to well-being resulted in some trainees feeling dehumanised. Work-life imbalance was particularly severe for those with children and especially women who faced a lack of less-than-full-time positions and discriminatory attitudes. Female trainees frequently talked about having to choose a specialty they felt was more conducive to a work-life balance such as General Practice. The proposed junior doctor contract was felt to exacerbate existing problems.
conclusionsA lack of work-life balance in postgraduate medical training negatively impacted on trainees' learning and well-being. Women with children were particularly affected, suggesting this group would benefit the greatest from changes to improve the work-life balance of trainees.
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