BMJ,322(7294); 5 May 2001

Survey: Why are doctors so unhappy?

From 4 - 18 May 2001, we conducted a survey to gauge doctors� level of unhappiness and their reasons for this. We invited all doctors to participate in the survey, accepting that some questions are particularly relevant to doctors in Britain.

View the results of the voting
Read Richard Smith's editorial on the topic
Read what others have had to say
Comment on the issue

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Physician under attack: Chidam Yegappan
bmj.com, 4 May 2001 [Full text]
what's new?: Faridah
bmj.com, 4 May 2001 [Full text]
Sabbatical: J Thurm
bmj.com, 4 May 2001 [Full text]
methodology query: Bernadette Coles
bmj.com, 5 May 2001 [Full text]
We have conceded our autonomy: Stephen Workman
bmj.com, 5 May 2001 [Full text]
Opportunities and availability of training: Lip Lee
bmj.com, 5 May 2001 [Full text]
Something needs to change - some suggestions: Andrew Marshall
bmj.com, 5 May 2001 [Full text]
Why we are unhappy - failed expectations!: Keith McCollum
bmj.com, 5 May 2001 [Full text]
can you make the correct diagnosis?: Gary Gorlick
bmj.com, 5 May 2001 [Full text]
Happiness is a State of Mind: Andrew Burd
bmj.com, 5 May 2001 [Full text]
Economic liberalism: Human disaster all over the world: R Blamey
bmj.com, 9 May 2001 [Full text]
Surprise, surprise - we're pathetic!: Frank Brennan
bmj.com, 4 May 2001 [Full text]
Why are doctors so happy?: Joseph Watine
bmj.com, 5 May 2001 [Full text]
Our own worst enemies: P K Morrish
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
Who wants to be an SHO?: Andrew Williams
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
doctors need more training opportunities: Victor Mendes
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
Postgraduate Exams: J Bryant
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
IF THIS HAPPENS IN UK IMAGINE THE PLIGHT OF FULL TIME PRACTIONERS CATERING RURAL POPULATION: K V Arulalan
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
Medical profession should be more united in addressing problems: Simon Smith
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
Ample reason to be unhappy: Mark Berelowitz
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
We are picking up pieces of society's meltdown: S P Prabhu
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
Tackle the cause: I Gulamali
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
Judgemental doctors in error: Norman E Crumpton
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
Stop whinging and move: Andrew Haig
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
It's a nurse thing.: Sohail Muzammil
bmj.com, 6 May 2001 [Full text]
Re: Stop whinging and move: Joseph Watine
bmj.com, 7 May 2001 [Full text]
Re: Ample reason to be unhappy: Ian Nesbitt
bmj.com, 7 May 2001 [Full text]
Restoring the soul of medicine: Brian McMullen
bmj.com, 7 May 2001 [Full text]
Its not all doom and gloom: Nicola Jakeman
bmj.com, 7 May 2001 [Full text]
not happy or unhappy but concerned...: David Seddon
bmj.com, 7 May 2001 [Full text]
Pull together with patients and staff: Robert J MacFadyen
bmj.com, 7 May 2001 [Full text]
Re: Surprise, surprise - we're pathetic!: Fauzi
bmj.com, 7 May 2001 [Full text]
I haven't Toxol.: Alexandr Spitsky
bmj.com, 8 May 2001 [Full text]
The Buck Stops Here: John Powell
bmj.com, 8 May 2001 [Full text]
Belief in ourselves: David Simpson
bmj.com, 8 May 2001 [Full text]
Why are doctors so unhappy?: Huma Khurram
bmj.com, 8 May 2001 [Full text]
De-politicise the NHS!: Nicola Cooper
bmj.com, 9 May 2001 [Full text]
What happened: Rakesh Bhargava
bmj.com, 9 May 2001 [Full text]
doctors picture should change: G O Ahmed
bmj.com, 9 May 2001 [Full text]
Re: Why are doctors so unhappy?: David Kernick
bmj.com, 9 May 2001 [Full text]
Try reducing your hours: Mike Laurence
bmj.com, 9 May 2001 [Full text]
Juniors and Safe Care: Jeremy Newman
bmj.com, 10 May 2001 [Full text]
WHY ARE DOCTORS UNHAPPY?: Fauzi
bmj.com, 10 May 2001 [Full text]
Give me a number!: Clare Rogers
bmj.com, 10 May 2001 [Full text]
Civic Society makes happy or unhappy people: Paras K Pokharel
bmj.com, 10 May 2001 [Full text]
PROFESSIONAL SATISFACTION IS A MYTH!: S C Pradhan
bmj.com, 10 May 2001 [Full text]
People make fun of medical students these days: Ravindra Arya
bmj.com, 2 Jun 2001 [Full text]
more happy less unhappy: Mohan Devegowda
bmj.com, 11 May 2001 [Full text]
Could someone please educate Richard Smith?: Declan Fox
bmj.com, 11 May 2001 [Full text]
How not to be unhappy?: B Venugopalan
bmj.com, 10 May 2001 [Full text]
Ask and you can't recieve: Prashanth Gupta
bmj.com, 11 May 2001 [Full text]
Re: Re: Stop whinging and move: Alastair D Short
bmj.com, 12 May 2001 [Full text]
A reply to Richard Smith: Marion Newman, et al.
bmj.com, 13 May 2001 [Full text]
Are doctors the scapegoats???: Annapoorani
bmj.com, 15 May 2001 [Full text]
A Desert perspective: Richard Knight
bmj.com, 15 May 2001 [Full text]
What precisely are you doing?: L Reinecke
bmj.com, 16 May 2001 [Full text]
Have a heart, not a swinging brick!: Chrystal D Frost
bmj.com, 15 May 2001 [Full text]
Doctor unhappiness in the NHS: Jonathan Rhodes
bmj.com, 16 May 2001 [Full text]
An outsider's view: P A West
bmj.com, 16 May 2001 [Full text]
Are They Unhappy Because they are depressed?: A Karim Jasim Al-Sheikhli
bmj.com, 17 May 2001 [Full text]
Papering over the cracks is never going to be easy: Mark Oliver
bmj.com, 18 May 2001 [Full text]
Change System of Medical Education: Parth Gokhale
bmj.com, 18 May 2001 [Full text]
Desires and the reality of being Doctor: Suely Grosseman
bmj.com, 20 May 2001 [Full text]
FIND OUT CAUSE OF HAPPINESS TOO: K R Sethuraman
bmj.com, 20 May 2001 [Full text]
It's Nice to be Employed, it Makes Some People Very Happy!: T Carol
bmj.com, 22 May 2001 [Full text]
Keep politics out of medicine: Indranil Kundu
bmj.com, 24 May 2001 [Full text]
The next 6 years - Do I Go On?: Roonio Baskaradarcchi
bmj.com, 28 May 2001 [Full text]
Re: The next 6 years - Do I Go On?: C K
bmj.com, 29 May 2001 [Full text]
Beating round the bush!: A N Ghanem
bmj.com, 29 May 2001 [Full text]
Re: The next 6 years - Do I Go On?: Andy Evans
bmj.com, 30 May 2001 [Full text]
doctors you too have a spine and brain: Prahladhan
bmj.com, 30 May 2001 [Full text]
Re: unhappy GPs: Andrew Falloon
bmj.com, 1 Jun 2001 [Full text]
Unhappy, or war-weary?: Andrew Bamji
bmj.com, 5 Jun 2001 [Full text]
Workload - a social construct: C Gunstone
bmj.com, 5 Jun 2001 [Full text]
The NHS should be politically independant: Mark Norman
bmj.com, 7 Jun 2001 [Full text]
Re: The NHS being politically independant, is there a better system?: Peter Bradley
bmj.com, 12 Jun 2001 [Full text]
My 2pence worth..: Richard Middleton
bmj.com, 17 Jun 2001 [Full text]
If the UK's so bad why not come to Australia?: Cassandra E Sharrock
bmj.com, 8 Jan 2002 [Full text]
Rediscover human values everyone!: Narayanan Muthuswamy
bmj.com, 7 Apr 2002 [Full text]
Reasons why Doctors are unhappy: Jayaram M Nambiar
bmj.com, 16 Jan 2003 [Full text]