From the first medical foundation course to the end of their career, working as a doctor is about the constant pursuit of learning and greater knowledge, but the requirements for postgraduate training might potentially be changing.
In an announcement made in late April 2024, NHS England has launched a review looking into the mandatory and statutory legal requirements for training, with plans to potentially halve the legal requirements and extend the length of time between refresher modules.
At present, doctors need to complete 11 courses each year, which equates to up to 33 training sessions each year which take a full day to complete.
These courses include medical subjects, as well as those on human rights, safeguarding and conflict resolution, although they are administrated at a trust level so the exact requirements can slightly change.
Where it gets complicated is when a doctor moves on rotation to different hospitals, something that is relatively common amongst junior doctors looking to acquire a broad range of experience.
This means that some junior doctors need to complete the required 11 courses as many as three times a year if they travel between trusts on rotation.
The NHS review aims to fix this by having a training system for the whole of England, meaning that the training courses would only need to be done once, and in combination with the plan to extend the time between refreshers could save as much as one day a year.
These proposals are part of a Long Term Workforce Plan intended to help encourage people who are capable and committed to becoming doctors and ensure that they remain supported within the NHS.
The results of the review will be announced in due course, but it is one of many changes to the NHS that intends to bring more doctors into the institution and inspire future generations to enrol for medical qualifications.
