Unhappy at the Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. While Rome eventually responded to some of his criticisms, it did not move fast enough to stall the protestant reformation.

At first glance, Sir John Tooke has been more successful than Luther, with England’s secretary of state for health immediately agreeing to half his 47 recommendations to reform postgraduate medical education and training.1 2 3 (Responses from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are awaited.) However, the vagueness of the government’s timescale for implementation has left every spokesperson for the medical profession—starting with Sir John himself—unhappy. The government might want to reflect on the lessons of that church door.

Of Tooke’s 23 other recommendations, four are matters for other organisations, two are being considered as part of Lord Darzi’s next stage review of the NHS in England, and seven are consigned to the …