Logan Reid
Junior doctors are qualified medical practitioners who are either engaged in postgraduate training or employed in a non-training role. They are responsible for many of the services provided by the NHS, including ward rounds, A&E, outpatient clinics, operating theatres, and GP surgeries. Junior doctors make up almost half of all doctors in the UK, with over 50,000 junior doctors working in NHS hospitals and the community in England. In 2024, the term 'junior doctor' was replaced by 'resident doctor' by the British Medical Association (BMA) to better reflect the skills and responsibilities of these medical professionals.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Other Names | Locum Doctors, FY1s, FY2s, F1s, F2s, Interns |
| Description | Qualified hospital doctors who have completed their medical degrees but are still undergoing training |
| Work Hours | 48 hours a week or more, with some working one in every three weekends |
| Work Shifts | Night, late, twilight and day shifts |
| Training | 4 years of further training after 5-6 years at medical school |
| GP | An extra year of training is required |
| Hospital Consultant | 6 more years of training is required |
| Supervision | Work under the supervision of a consultant |
| New Title | Resident Doctors |
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What You'll Learn
Junior doctors are qualified hospital doctors
Junior doctors, now known as resident doctors, are qualified hospital doctors. They are responsible for many of the services provided by the NHS. In June 2017, junior doctors made up almost half of all doctors in hospitals in England. They are qualified to practice medicine, and some have up to ten years of practical experience on top of this.
Junior doctors are qualified medical practitioners who have graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree and started the UK Foundation Programme. This two-year foundation programme gives them their first experience working with patients and medical staff. After this, they complete either "speciality training" in a particular area of medicine or "general practice training" to become a GP. Speciality training can take anywhere from three to eight years and involves working under the supervision of a consultant. Junior doctors increasingly deal with patients first-hand over the course of their speciality training.
Junior doctors work long hours under extremely stressful conditions. In 1991, the government, the NHS, and the British Medical Association (BMA) agreed to reduce the working hours of junior doctors. Their duty hours were reduced to a maximum average of 56 hours of actual work and 72 hours on-call duty per week. This change was enforced on 1 December 2000. The European Working Time Directive (EWTD) further reduced the average working week to 48 hours or fewer by 2009.
The term "junior doctor" is falling out of fashion as it implies that these doctors are students or apprentices and not fully qualified. The British Medical Association (BMA) agreed to start using the term "resident doctors" from 18 September 2024. This new term better reflects the skills and responsibilities of these doctors, almost a quarter of all doctors in the UK.
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They are also known as resident doctors
Junior doctors are qualified hospital doctors who have completed their medical degrees. They make up almost half of all doctors in the UK. In the US and Australia, a doctor in the early junior doctor stage is called an 'intern'. In the UK, junior doctors in their first two years are called 'FY1s' and 'FY2s' (Foundation Years 1 and 2).
Junior doctors are now known as 'resident doctors'. This term was officially adopted by the British Medical Association (BMA) on 18 September 2024, replacing the previous terms 'junior doctor', 'registrar', and 'specialty doctor'. The term 'resident doctor' was chosen by doctors themselves because it avoids confusion with other colleagues, doesn't imply a lack of qualifications, and is snappy enough for day-to-day use. It is also used in the US, Canada, the Philippines, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, and Australia, so patients may already be familiar with it.
Resident doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training. They have completed a medical degree and can have up to nine years of working experience as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to five years of experience to become a general practitioner (GP). All resident doctors work under the supervision of a senior doctor.
The period of being a resident doctor starts when they qualify as a medical practitioner following graduation with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree, and start the UK Foundation Programme. It ends when they become a consultant, a GP, or a SAS doctor (Specialty, Associate Specialist, or Specialist doctor). The term resident doctor includes the grades of foundation doctor, core trainee (in some specialties, such as surgery, medicine, and psychiatry), and specialty registrar.
Resident doctors work long hours under extremely stressful conditions. In 1991, the government, the NHS, and the BMA agreed on a package of measures called the New Deal for Junior Doctors, which reduced resident doctors' duty hours to a maximum average of 56 hours of actual work and 72 hours on-call duty per week.
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They make up almost half of all doctors in the UK
Junior doctors, now known as resident doctors, make up almost half of all doctors in the UK. In June 2017, of the 106,000 doctors in NHS hospitals and community health services in England, 50,000 were junior doctors. This figure includes full-time equivalent statistics, rather than headcount.
Junior doctors are qualified hospital doctors who have completed their medical degrees. They are not consultants, who are senior doctors specialising in a particular area of medicine. Junior doctors are responsible for many of the services provided by the NHS. They are the backbone of the health service, working long hours under stressful conditions.
Junior doctors first complete a two-year foundation programme, which gives them their first experience working with patients and medical staff. After this, they complete either specialty training in a particular area of medicine or general practice training to become a GP. This can take anywhere from three to eight years. During specialty training, junior doctors work under the supervision of a consultant and increasingly deal with patients firsthand.
The term 'junior doctor' has fallen out of fashion as it implies that these doctors are students or apprentices and not fully qualified. The British Medical Association (BMA) and the government now use the term 'resident doctor' to better reflect the skills and responsibilities of these medical professionals.
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They are not students or apprentices
Junior doctors are qualified hospital doctors who have completed their medical degrees. They are not students or apprentices. In fact, they make up almost half of all doctors in the UK. As of 2017, there were 50,000 junior doctors out of a total of 106,000 doctors in NHS hospitals and community health services in England.
Junior doctors are responsible for many of the services provided by the NHS. They are the first point of contact for sick and unwell patients on the ward, they operate in theatres, and they lead teams across various specialties in health services. They work long hours under extremely stressful conditions.
Junior doctors are in the process of gaining further qualifications. They first complete a two-year "foundation programme", which gives them their first experience working with patients and medical staff. After this, they complete either speciality training in a particular area of medicine or general practice training to become a GP. This can take anywhere from three to eight years.
The term "junior doctor" is falling out of fashion as it implies that these doctors are students or apprentices, which they are not. In 2024, the British Medical Association (BMA) changed the terminology to resident doctors. This term is already used in the US, Canada, the Philippines, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, and Australia. It was chosen because it avoids confusion with other colleagues, doesn't imply a lack of qualifications, and is snappy enough for day-to-day use.
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They work long hours under stressful conditions
Junior doctors, now known as resident doctors, are qualified hospital doctors who have completed their medical degrees. They are not consultants, who are senior doctors specialising in a particular area of medicine. Junior doctors make up almost half of all doctors in the UK, with over 50,000 out of 125,000 doctors in NHS hospitals and the community in England falling under this category.
Junior doctors work long hours under stressful conditions. They work 48 hours a week or more, and may work one in every three weekends, working in blocks of night, late, twilight and day shifts. This can make it difficult for them to see family and friends outside of work. In the first two years, junior doctors in the NHS are called 'FY1s' and 'FY2s' (Foundation Years 1 and 2) – or simply 'F1s' and 'F2s'. They are typically expected to work seven consecutive 13-hour night shifts, which can lead to fatigue and poor performance. Evidence suggests that working long hours can have long-term health effects and impair learning capacity.
In the United States, residents are expected to spend up to 80 hours a week in the hospital and endure single shifts that last up to 28 hours. This gruelling schedule is twice as many hours annually as their peers in other white-collar professions. The American public supports restrictions on residents' working hours, with nearly 90% believing that residents' shifts should be 16 hours or less.
The problem of long working hours for junior doctors has been recognised in the UK, with the implementation of the European Working Time Directive and the Department of Health's new deal to improve working conditions. However, the resulting increase in shift work has led to dissatisfaction, with junior doctors reporting fatigue and poor performance on the night shift. There are concerns about the long-term health effects of shift work, and the potential impact on future recruitment and retention of junior doctors.
To mitigate the effects of shift work, it is recommended that trusts provide exercise facilities for NHS staff, and that occupational health departments play a proactive role in educating staff about the dangers of shift work and promoting health.
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Frequently asked questions
A junior hospital doctor is a qualified medical practitioner who has completed their medical degree and is either engaged in postgraduate training or employed in a non-training role. They are also known as resident doctors.
A resident doctor is a qualified doctor who is in further training and not yet qualified to practice independently without supervision. They are no longer referred to as junior doctors as this term implies that they are students or apprentices.
Junior doctors first complete a two-year foundation programme, after which they can choose to complete specialty training in a particular area of medicine or general practice training to become a GP.
Consultants are senior doctors who have completed full medical training in a specialised area of medicine. They have clinical and administrative responsibilities in managing SAS and resident doctors.
