Female medical graduates on the increase, says BMA

Female doctors graduating from medical school now outnumber their male counterparts by around three to two, a new survey has found.

A poll of 435 medics who graduated last year shows that 58 per cent were women, compared with 51 per cent in 2005.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which conducted the study, found that women want more flexibility in their training and are more willing to work part-time.

Dr Jo Hilborne, chairman of the BMA's junior doctors' committee, said: "The medical workforce is changing rapidly and the NHS needs to wake up to the needs of its staff.

"It's not just the fact that more and more women are entering medicine all staff should have the right to work-life balance."

According to the BMA research many medics also fear that they will not find employment on graduating.

Only 16 per cent are confident that they would automatically receive a job on completion of their training.

Last week, the BMA called on the Government to change the appeals process so that junior doctors who were not granted a training post could challenge the decision now rather than wait until November.

Source material: the Independent.

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