Limited career and training opportunities raised by doctors leaving register

“Limited” training opportunities have been cited by doctors who withdrew from the medical register’s general division in 2023.

Most doctors who voluntarily withdrew from the general division stated that they wished to practise medicine abroad (66.5 per cent, n=443), according to a Medical Council supplementary report for 2023.

There were a number of key themes raised in the feedback provided by these doctors.  “The themes generated included practising abroad, limited career progression and training opportunities, unfavourable training conditions, poor working conditions, limited job opportunities and economic constraints, and personal or family reasons,” according to the Council report. “Many of the themes are strongly linked and in some cases one theme may be a motivating factor for another.”

Many of the doctors were pursuing postgraduate training, fellowships or practising medicine abroad. The locations varied, but the UK and Australia were the most commonly mentioned.

Doctors shared experiences of limited career progression and training opportunities in Ireland.  “This was often very frustrating and disheartening as many of these doctors wanted to stay in Ireland but could not access training despite numerous attempts,” according to the report.

One doctor remarked: “As an ‘international medical graduate’ it has become increasingly difficult to secure a training position, the job application process is also not transparent and centralised.”

Another issue raised by doctors leaving the general division was a desire for greater access to flexible training.

“Doctors often characterised training here as inflexible, especially for families with unfavourable hours and rotations, understaffed hospitals, limited senior support and instances where service provision is prioritised and training is reduced to [accommodate] this.”

In total, 1,018 doctors voluntarily withdrew their registration from the Medical Council in 2023. Some 64.5 per cent indicated that they wished to practise medicine in another country, 11.3 per cent wished to stop practising medicine, and 24.2 per cent reported having some other reason for voluntarily withdrawing. 

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