Enhancing junior doctors’ working lives

Abstract

Junior doctor wellbeing has been a topic of increasing interest in recent years. There is increasing evidence of poor workplace satisfaction, rising levels of burnout and increasing diaspora of UK-trained junior doctors. There is therefore a pressing need to address the wellbeing of our trainees and recent concerted efforts at local, national and international levels are working towards this, with the ultimate goal of also improving patient care. The tension between the personal and the professional may never be so keenly felt as during the unique challenges we are facing this year, in 2020, as we tackle the biggest global health emergency of our lives brought about by COVID-19. There are many positive examples of new initiatives aimed at supporting the medical community at this time; however, we must all work together to sustain these endeavors in post-pandemic times. We here summarize a number of pertinent issues affecting trainee wellbeing, outline current attempts at addressing these and make further suggestions as how to enhance the working lives of our junior doctors. However there is much still to be done.