David Oliver: Don’t undervalue non-clinical work

Remember training? It takes 6-12 years after medical graduation and involves teaching, study, and serial exams. To become an effective consultant, learning through clinical practice isn’t sufficient: it increasingly requires grounding in leadership, management, research, appraisal, and quality improvement.

These skills are taught by existing consultants, taking time away from direct patient care. Consultant readiness is also partly acquired when juniors occasionally act as decision maker or team leader, when consultants are working away from the wards.

I wonder whether one cause of poor morale in trainees is their close-up view of what working life is now …