Life is soo hard, and life as a student is even harder, especially for students of medicine. That is the headline in this morning’s print edition of the grauniad. Once they’re graduated, life becomes even more terrible for female surgeons according to The Times top headline. You can find the rest of this morning’s front pages collected here.
Firstly, some quotes from the Guardian’s text:
“One in three medical students plan to quit the NHS within two years of graduating, either to practise abroad or abandon medicine altogether, according to the largest survey of its kind. Poor pay, work-life balance and working conditions of doctors in the UK were the main factors cited by those intending to emigrate to continue their medical career.” (link)
This survey was undertaken by none other than the BMJ, the doctors’ ‘trade union’ which has been organising all the junior doctors’ strikes, another two to come this and next month. Now there’s a surprise! Next:
“The same reasons were also given by those planning to quit medicine altogether, with nearly 82% of them also listing burnout as an important or very important reason. The findings from the study of 10,486 students at the UK’s 44 medical schools, published in the journal BMJ Open, triggered calls for action to prevent an exodus of medical students from the NHS.”(link)
If you try clicking on the link to the BMJ report so helpfully provided by the Guardian you’ll find the sweet message that ‘access is denied’. How strange. Does the BMJ not want ordinary peasants to take a look at their poll data? Did they give their report to the grauniad only – for obvious reasons?
It is unclear if this ‘burnout’ applies to the hard work, studying, which prospective medical doctors have to undertake, or only to the work they are expected to do once they’ve graduated. In any case, it is ‘scientific’ fodder to justify the BMJ’s ongoing strike actions.
Perhaps it’s not the ‘burn-outs’, the fabulous ‘work-life’ balance or the ‘poor pay’ which is the reason for this dissatisfaction but the ‘quality’ of the students entering medical colleges? Perhaps all those brilliant pupils with their handful of A levels with top results might not really have it in them to become doctors?
And so to the findings headlined by The Times: “One in three female surgeons have been assaulted by a colleague. Today they speak” (link, paywalled). It’s ‘complaints week’ in The Times’ newsrooms because there’s also a report about former and wannabe ballerinas who were ‘body-shamed’ when at ballet school.
I’m not going there – it’s too ridiculous. I only mention it because the underlying trend seems to be that females are utterly helpless victims: driven into burnouts when studying, body-shamed and bullied, or sexually assaulted when at work in ‘a male dominated’ profession.
While we’re not told about the percentage of female v male medical students going to give up and abandon their studied and the NHS, we are told who compiled the study reported in the Times – savour this:
“The survey was commissioned by the independent Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery and supported by the Royal College of Surgeons, Health Education England and the Association of Surgeons in Training. The results have been presented to NHS England, the General Medical Council (GMC), which regulates doctors, and the British Medical Association. The study was the largest of its kind in the surgical profession. Researchers from Exeter University analysed 1,436 responses to an anonymous online survey of surgeons.” (link, paywalled)
Another ‘largest of its kind’ study … I found it odd that on the one hand we’re told this study was ‘anonymous’ but on the other The Times reports the ‘metoo’ moments of named female surgeons. Apparently the operating theatres are a hive of sexual misconduct. I’m looking forward to a study on the experiences of female operating theatre nurses …
I leave you with this quote from yon study: “Even the surgical instruments are designed for male hands.” (link, paywalled). That’s just awful! No wonder that junior doctors want to give up! Perhaps once the NHS is in female hands, top to bottom, admin to doctors, all will be well! After all, isn’t the solution to everything to let wimmin run things?
That’s all I have for today. Perhaps the solution is to have AI and robots take over the whole medical profession … Have a good day.
Perhaps the disgruntled doctors / surgeons should get some first hand experience of working till they drop by going over to Ukraine, saving, patching up, a never ending line of emergency patients.
BTW no news of the Russian elections?
Decadence: the decline in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honour, discipline or skill at governing among the members of the elite of a very large social structure, such as an empire or nation states. (Anonymous Wikipedia author). Our media have become decadence daily in consort with our establishment and government.
Surveys of anonymous reports – suggestive fishing expeditions in other words – always find evidence of whatever moat is in the researcher’s eye. Our decadent media never question that the evidence is untested, uncorroborated and therefore valueless. #metoo rules. All so tiresome.
https://www.gbnews.com/politics/china-news-rishi-sunak-beijing-net-zero-pledge-kemi-badenoch
How many more reasons do we need to be rid of this useless PM? I suspect that the great majority of votes for him will be driven by the need to avoid a Starmer government rather than support for the so-called Conservatives.
Jack………..and no doubt this is what he is banking on as well. As a UKIP candidate I heard this excuse being told me on the doorstep so many times that I lost count and the conversation went something like this ‘we like what UKIP has to offer, but we will have to vote Conservative to keep Labour out’. Both the Conservative and Labour are traitorous parties who have acted against the British interest time and again, but the electorate are notoriously fickle and forget just how dire the Conservatives, their prime ministers, ministers and MP’s actually are. However, I do think the Conservative Party are now finished as a going concern and will inevitably split in two which will be helped if Cummings new party gets off the ground before the next general election.
“Have a good day,”
Huh.