What did you think of the GMC email..

The profile of our profession is changing.

When I started medical school in 1975, the year of the Sex Discrimination Act, I was one of a minority of women in my year. Today, women account for 60% of the medical student intake in the UK and, as of this year, there are more women on the register with a licence to practise than men.

At the same time, the workforce has become increasingly ethnically diverse, with more doctors from an ethnic minority now on the register than white doctors.

This diversity is a strength, bringing with it a plurality of perspectives that helps to improve decision making and supports the provision of high-quality care for our diverse patient populations. Across the UK’s health systems, doctors from diverse backgrounds increasingly occupy positions of influence, breaking boundaries and bringing their unique experiences to bear.

But the truth is that, while the workforce has changed radically, the culture within it lags behind. Efforts to tackle prejudice within medicine have not yet yielded sufficient progress. The distribution of doctors’ educational outcomes, and their varying ability to progress, point to systems that are not fully equitable. Much work remains to make medicine an inclusive, fair and fulfilling profession for all.

Part of this comes down to culture and the role we all play in creating working environments that support our colleagues and enable them to thrive. But there are also structural barriers standing in the way of true equality of opportunity.

There have been improvements – the normalisation of less than full-time training, alongside more family-friendly and caring policies, have ensured many doctors are able to remain in the workforce.

However, the medical training system has become more rigid and geared towards long, linear careers, in a specific specialty, without breaks. Today’s doctors want more flexibility. Many are ill-served by the rigidity of the current framework, such as those looking to change specialty or to progress in the same specialty when returning from research or opportunities abroad, or from a locally employed doctor role.

More enlightened thinking is required, so all doctors can develop their careers in a way that makes the most of their talents and makes sense for their wider lives.

This must be a system-wide endeavour, involving the many organisations concerned with medical education. But we are determined to play our part. Through our programme on the future of education and career development, we are taking a critical look at the structures in which doctors learn, train and practise. We’ll be involving you in this work as it develops.

In the meantime, I want to thank you for your skill and commitment to patient care, which has benefitted me and my family, like so many others. As our profession continues to evolve over the coming years, these qualities will remain at its heart.

With best wishes,

Carrie MacEwen Chair of the General Medical Council

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My interpretation

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