Medical Student – DAUK

Medical students reflect on Wes Streeting’s ‘moaning minnies’ attack

Matt Kneale — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 13:09:29 +0000

Being a medical student battling against the dwindling morale of our senior workforce is trying at the best of times. Combine that with Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s remarks that junior doctors are ‘moaning minnies’ and ‘juvenile delinquents’ and it becomes downright insulting. It certainly does nothing to bolster confidence in our future profession. Recent political commentary and social media coverage have painted a bleak and often misleading image of doctors, particularly those early in their careers.

Belittled workforce

It is difficult to reconcile the public’s expectation of unwavering compassion with the ease with which the same workforce is publicly belittled. As representatives of medical students and soon-to-be doctors, we are deeply concerned by public comments made by figures such as Mr Streeting that risk further erosion of public confidence. While we recognise that recent developments – including UK graduate prioritisation for training posts and progress on pay – suggest that collective action is beginning to have an effect, a pressing question remains: how can the Health Secretary undo what has already been said? For those of us lower down the chain, and the next cohort to inherit this rhetoric, the impact of his words has been hard-hitting. Here are some reflections from members of the DAUK medical student committee.

Joshua Haria:

“Wes Streeting’s comments are damning to the medical profession and certainly do not help the public’s increasingly unfavourable view of doctors. “It is saddening to see that doctors are not as respected as they once were, but obvious to me why so many doctors plan to emigrate. “Even some of my medical student peers have decided they are going to leave the NHS due to the continued poor offers that the government has proposed. “I am worried about joining the NHS workforce but I am hopeful that the situation may get better.”

Safira Taplin:

“As a medical student, comments dismissing the concerns of resident doctors make me anxious to join the workforce. “I worry about joining a system where I will be undervalued and makes me question how sustainable a career in the NHS will be.”

Sami MacRae:

“As a medical student and aspiring future resident doctor, undoubtedly our patients should be the core focus. Yet this does not negate the necessity of the resident doctor workforce needing to be supported, and so requires an improved relationship between politics and healthcare that is not currently present.”

Maya Machesney:

“In my final year of medical school, with friends already working tirelessly as junior doctors, Mr Streeting’s remarks could not be more insulting. “They trivialise genuine concerns and make it harder for the public to see doctors as what they are: professionals trying to keep patients safe in an overstretched system. “Ever resilient, the medical profession and healthcare workers will continue to work, deliver care and advocate for an NHS our patients deserve.”

Alyx Douglas:

“As someone who will soon be joining the resident doctor workforce, it is disheartening to hear tactless remarks aimed at them. “It is equally unfortunate to see such resistance to cooperation or compromise. “Patients benefit from the collaborative efforts of medics and politicians; the current standoff is unproductive and can’t continue.”

DAUK’s members are all volunteers. They campaign and speak in the media about issues facing doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.

DAUK referenced ahead of resident doctor training debate

Matt Kneale — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 13:56:15 +0000

DAUK has contributed to a House of Lords briefing ahead of a debate on the Government’s plans for resident doctor training posts. Blogs written by members of the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) student committee have been referenced in the document. The blogs explore the issue of bottlenecks in speciality training and the impact it is having on people. The House of Lords document says: “The Doctors’ Association UK, a campaigning group of doctors and medical students, has warned that some medics fear unemployment due to high competition for places in their chosen specialisms.

Resident doctor training

“It has described how portfolios are built to apply for certain specialisms, leaving applicants ill-equipped to apply for other placements outside their area of interest.” It comes ahead of a short debate in the House of Lords debate on Wednesday (17 July). Lord Lansley (Conservative) will ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the ratio of medical training posts in each specialty relative to the number of foundation year medical students choosing that specialty. Read the medical student committee blogs. Read the House of Lords document. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe

Uncertain future for hundreds of new doctors left without jobs

Matt Kneale — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 15:57:28 +0000

The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has warned that hundreds of newly-qualified doctors face an uncertain future after being allocated placeholder roles.

There are now less then two months before this year’s graduating cohort is due to start work.

Around 700 final-year medical students still have no information about which trust or rotation they will be working in. That’s around 5.5% of the cohort.

They have, in effect, been placed on a waiting list.

The delay hampers their ability to arrange relocations, find accommodation, and puts a strain on their mental health, DAUK’s student committee says.

It also creates challenges for NHS workforce planning and integrating graduate doctors into hospital systems.

DAUK’s student committee has highlighted the impact on individuals in an open letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting and to the Department for Health.

The committee calls for an urgent review. It says the reform of the allocation system and workforce strategy are ‘essential’.

Read the letter in full below.

Our student committee members are all volunteers and speak about issues facing frontline doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.

Statement on placeholder jobs

This year, nearly 700 final-year medical students – around 5.5% of the graduating cohort – have been allocated to ‘placeholder’ roles within the UK Foundation Programme.

These positions function as a waiting list rather than confirmed jobs, and many new doctors still have no information about which trust or rotation they will be working in.

More than two months have passed since these doctors were randomly assigned to this reserve list. In contrast, their peers have already received confirmed placements and begun preparing for their transition into clinical practice.

This marks the third consecutive year that a large number of graduates — more than 700 in 2023 and again in 2024 — have found themselves in this position. This suggests that the issue is no longer an isolated backlog but a systemic and recurring feature of the current allocation process.

The system itself, which is based on a lottery rather than merit, understandably leads to frustration. Being placed into limbo at such a critical point undermines confidence in the process and raises concerns about transparency and fairness.

The impact on medical student wellbeing is profound, with clear implications for the future of the profession. A BMJ Open study published in February 2025 found that one in five medical students considered leaving the profession altogether1.

While mental health issues such as emotional exhaustion, anxiety, and depression were cited as key drivers to these dropout intentions, the added uncertainty of not having a confirmed post after graduation only compounds this burden.

Newly qualified doctors are experiencing burnout at alarming levels. The General Medical Council’s 2024 National Training Survey found that a majority of trainees report emotional exhaustion – emphasising the unsustainable working conditions they are entering into.2

Medical students accept a certain level of stress as part of their training but facing exhaustion so severe that many consider leaving the profession points to a far deeper crisis. On top of this, they are preparing to enter a healthcare system already under significant strain – an environment that further undermines their confidence and worsens existing mental health challenges.

This delay in receiving a secure job also creates challenges for workforce planning within the NHS. Foundation doctors are a core part of clinical teams, and late allocations leave little time for induction, rota planning, or integration into hospital systems. Trusts are left preparing to onboard staff with
minimal notice, which affects team stability and patient care.

With less than two months remaining before this year’s cohort is due to start work, many graduates are still unable to make basic arrangements such as securing housing or planning relocation. The timeline is unworkable, especially when considering the demands of starting a high-responsibility clinical role.

This situation raises broader questions about long-term planning. If the UK is consistently producing more medical graduates than can be immediately placed, urgent review and reform of the allocation system and workforce strategy are essential. Training future doctors is a long-term investment – but failing to provide them with timely entry into the system risks undermining that investment entirely.

Resources:

Medisauskaite A, Silkens M, Lagisetty N, Rich A. UK medical students’ mental health and their
intention to drop out: a longitudinal study. BMJ Open. 2025;15(2):e094058.
Council GM. National Training Survey: Summary Report 2024. London: General Medical Council;
2024 2024 Jul 25.

Blogs: Medical student committee members on bottlenecks in speciality training

Matt Kneale — Wed, 07 May 2025 18:46:11 +0000

Members of DAUK’s medical student committee have blogged on the issue of bottlenecks in speciality training and the impact it is having on people.

Trish Suji:

It is daunting to imagine how much higher the competition ratios will reach by the time of my cohort’s applications. We have all heard from doctors on placement that have not got into training. Instead, they have found a job in Australia or one of the few junior fellow jobs in the UK. The same is true on Instagram or X – all over the country. I am in my final year, and barely a week after final results were released, discussion of the next worry began; unemployment after Foundation Year 2 (FY2).

Speciality training

I am aware that competition ratios are not always what they seem as many candidates apply for multiple specialities. However, the scoring matrices for training with high cut-offs are a difficult, and sometimes expensive, goal to reach by FY2. Many foundation doctors and core training doctors on placement have urged my friends and I to start working towards goals that will win points in applications, as early as the third year. This has also meant that having just sat finals, some of my peers immediately began discussion on post-grad exams for points.

Bottlenecks

There is an element of fear that needs to be addressed. I think informal talks by the royal colleges on speciality applications aimed at clinical/ final year medical students in the UK to explain the competition ratios would be a good idea. This would allow us to ask questions about becoming a competitive candidate and how to plan and what to do if we don’t get into training. The royal colleges would also hear more final year voices on the national feeling of their future in medicine. For now I am going to do my best at becoming a competitive candidate. But, I will also try to find out more on the next steps if I am not successful first time around.

Alyx Douglas:

The increasing competition for speciality training posts in the UK is leaving many doctors without a clear career path, forcing them into jobs they never intended to pursue, or out of work altogether. New medical graduates face immense pressure knowing that, just two years after qualifying, our future could be determined by a system that lacks sufficient training opportunities.

Relocation

Many specialities require relocation, but financial, personal, or visa-related constraints make this unfeasible for some, effectively shutting them out of their chosen careers. As a result, a growing number of UK-trained doctors are moving overseas, uprooting their entire lives just to escape a system that fails to support them. Countries like Australia and Canada offer better pay, working conditions, and structured training pathways, making emigration an increasingly attractive option. This only worsens the NHS workforce crisis, as more doctors leave while shortages persist.

Sense of dread

As medical students, we enter the profession with a sense of dread, fearing that after years of hard work, we may find ourselves in limbo — unable to secure training in our chosen field or forced into roles that don’t align with our passion. Without urgent reforms — such as increasing training posts, improving regional flexibility, and addressing workforce planning failures — the NHS will continue losing dedicated doctors to burnout, disillusionment, or emigration.

Anish Malik:

Receiving a letter of acceptance to medical school is not only a proud moment for prospective medical students, but also for their parents and family. The pride of the parents stems from the efforts of their child to get in, the prestige associated with the profession, and the knowledge that their child will have a secure and prosperous future. However, this does not seem to be the case anymore. Now, after five years of medical school and two years of foundation doctor training, the future of every doctor applying to speciality training has become uncertain.

Training places

While many specialities are crying out for more specialists to improve their service, impossibly, the doctors applying to train in these areas are being rejected, with training places remaining stagnant. The supply of doctors can be available to meet the demand for services, but it is not as they are not being allowed to train. The cohort of doctors applying to speciality training is larger than the number of training places available. As a final year medical student, who will be in this position in two years’ time, it does not inspire the hopeful future which was once promised. Instead it introduces questions of uncertainty. Many of my peers are planning a life outside of medicine past FY2.

Secure future

Others plan to continue their medical journey abroad despite the money the UK has spent on their training. These two avenues now provide more of a secure and prosperous future than being a doctor in the UK. The remainder of my colleagues will compete with international graduates to tackle the current system, but with unknowns about their future careers.

Maya Machesney:

Reaching speciality training is a feat in itself. Medical students are forced to rely on a random ballot-generated ranking to decide their fate, facing the uncertainty of being sent anywhere across the country. This can mean being separated from family, friends, and the support systems we’ve built, becoming junior doctors far from home, at a time when stability matters most.

Medical training

With so much uncertainty and personal sacrifice embedded into medical training, one thing must remain non-negotiable: the right to pursue our chosen career path. And yet, even this is being steadily undermined. Despite growing and urgent demand for doctors across many specialities, increasing numbers of junior doctors are being left without training posts, or are forced to consider leaving the UK altogether to achieve their aspirations. From the early years of medical school, we are encouraged to plan meticulously for our futures. But we are building up portfolios for specialities we have no guarantee of securing.

Competition

This culture of constant competition only fuels anxiety, especially when there is no guarantee efforts will lead to the roles some have spent years preparing for. We have all invested so much in this profession – emotionally, financially, and personally. We need evidence that our faith in the system has not been misplaced. It is time our dedication and commitment is reflected back in a fairer, more supportive system.

Meaningful reform

The DAUK medical student committee is calling for urgent and meaningful reform:

Immediate expansion of speciality training posts in line with workforce demand and future NHS needs.
National standardisation of portfolio requirements across specialities, to ensure fairness and clarity.
Protect career progression for doctors taking time out of training.
A published, accountable roadmap for workforce reform, showing how the Government and NHS bodies will meet current and future demand.

Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder or by becoming a member.

UKFPO ‘failing to support students transition from academic study to professional practice’

Matt Kneale — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 12:37:38 +0000

The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has been carefully considering the circumstances surrounding the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO).

For several consecutive years, the UKFPO has consistently failed to meet the standards expected of a professional recruitment organisation.

Its repeated shortcomings have caused significant distress and uncertainty for medical students across the UK, undermining the transition from academic study to professional practice.

The UKFPO’s incompetence has manifested itself in numerous ways.

Many students have been left in limbo regarding their future work locations, with some being allocated positions hundreds of miles from their support networks and given the stark choice of accepting or reapplying the following year.

An increasing number of students have found themselves on national or regional waitlists, unsure of their final placements and, consequently, their future salaries.

The UKFPO has repeatedly failed to meet its own deadlines, leaving students in a state of prolonged uncertainty about their futures.

It has not provided job information in a timely manner, hampering students’ ability to arrange long-distance relocations.

The UKFPO’s communication has been woefully inadequate, with instances of crucial, last-minute announcements being made only on social media.

The latest debacle, in which students were provided with entirely meaningless rankings generated by a random number generator, exemplifies the UKFPO’s profound lack of insight into the anxiety and distress they continue to inflict upon students.

This action demonstrates a clear disregard for the dignity of medical students and fails to treat them as the professionals they are training to become.

Not fit for purpose

It is evident the UKFPO is failing in its duty to support students in their transition to working life as doctors.

In its current format, the organisation is not fit for purpose as a recruiter for the medical profession.

DAUK is therefore requesting a formal, urgent review from the Department of Health into the current UKFPO system.

Furthermore, we seek immediate clarification on whether final year medical students will be guaranteed employment in the coming year.

We also strongly urge the Department of Health to reconsider its plans to increase medical school places without a corresponding increase in the number of foundation, clinical fellowship, specialty training, and consultant posts.

We will be writing to the UKFPO in due course.

Become a member of DAUK and support our work.

DAUK launches medical student essay writing competition

Matt Kneale — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 15:48:50 +0000

The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) is excited to announce the launch of an essay-writing competition for medical students with the chance to win cash prizes.

The UK is suffering from a biodiversity crisis and is one of the most bio-deplete countries in the world, but why should healthcare professionals care about this?

Medical students are being encouraged to submit a 1,000-word essay on the question: Why does biodiversity matter to healthcare and what should we do about it?

Please ensure essays are in font size 12, are double spaced, are in Harvard or Vancouver style referencing with a maximum of five references.

The first prize is £300, with two £100 prizes for the two runners-up.

The top three essays will also be considered for publication in the BMJ Leader blog.

The closing date for entries is 30 April.

The competition is free to enter and you must be a DAUK member to enter. Membership is free for medical students.

Visit the membership section of the DAUK website for more details.

Essays should be submitted via the DAUK website by visiting https://form.jotform.com/240785695420059

Frustration as 25% of medical students not allocated first choice foundation school

Matt Kneale — Sat, 09 Mar 2024 12:43:55 +0000

The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) shares the frustrations of the many medical students who have been allocated to foundation schools outside of their top choices.

One in four medical students have not been allocated their first choice school, while 740 students (7.6%) have been allocated to one outside of their top five.

Trisha Suji, DAUK medical student lead, said: “This is an important moment for all final year medical students in the UK who have just received their foundation programme allocations, determining where they will spend their first two years as a doctor.

“As those in the medical profession know, each foundation school covers large areas of the UK – sometimes entire countries.

“While most medical students have been allocated their top choice, one in four have not.

“For many, this means leaving their support networks behind, and due to differing pay scales in UK countries, leaves some earning less than their peers without choice.”

This is the first year that Preference Informed Allocation (PIA) has been used. It replaced the Score Based Allocation which combined EMP and SJT scores.

The UKFPO conducted modelling in January 2023 which found PIA resulted in 79.47% of applicants obtaining their first choice foundation school compared to the previous score-based system, which achieved 73.90% (¹).

DAUK recognises that this informed stakeholder engagement surveys, which found 66% of respondents favoured a move to PIA in June 2023 (²).

DAUK has reviewed the UKFPO 2024 allocation data document.

While we are pleased 75.42% of students, 4.4% more than last year, received their first preference, this was less than the modelling predicted and not the highest seen historically.

This was the second worst year since 2017 for allocating top five preferences, which fell by 2.59% compared to last year.

With 9702 allocations, this means nearly 740 students were allocated to Foundation Schools outside of their top five. 35 students will have been allocated to their 18th preference. (³)

Trisha said: “We share the frustrations of the many medical students that have been forced into this situation.

“It is disappointing that despite changing to this new system which has caused some students distress – a third did not vote for this change – those allocated to their top preferences do not appear to be significantly improved.

“We ask the UKFPO what support it is offering those students who have not been allocated their top preferences this year?

“And how does it plan to improve the numbers of students achieving their preferred preferences for the upcoming year?”