Career progression of men and women doctors in the UK NHS: a questionnaire study of the UK medical qualifiers of 1993 in 2010/2011

OBJECTIVES: To report the career progression of a cohort of UK medical graduates in mid-career, comparing men and women. DESIGN: Postal and questionnaire survey conducted in 2010/2011, with comparisons with earlier surveys. SETTING: UK. PARTICIPANTS: In total, 2507 responding UK medical graduates of 1993. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Doctors’ career specialties, grade, work location and working pattern in 2010/2011 and equivalent data in earlier years. RESULTS: The respondents represented 72% of the contactable cohort; 90% were working in UK medicine and 7% in medicine outside the UK; 87% were in the UK NHS (87% of men and 86% of women). Of doctors in the NHS, 70.6% of men and 52.0% of women were in the hospital specialties and the great majority of the others were in general practice. Within hospital specialties, a higher percentage of men than women were in surgery, and a higher percentage of women than men were in paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, clinical oncology, pathology and psychiatry. In the NHS, 63% of women and 8% of men were working less-than-full-time (in general practice, 19% of men and 83% of women; and in hospital specialties, 3% of men and 46% of women). Among doctors who had always worked full-time, 94% of men and 87% of women GPs were GP principals; in hospital practice, 96% of men and 93% of women had reached consultant level. CONCLUSIONS: The 1993 graduates show a continuing high level of commitment to the NHS. Gender differences in seniority lessened considerably when comparing doctors who had always worked full-time.