Over a quarter of doctors in training (27%) say that they have experienced microaggressions, negative comments, or oppressive body language from colleagues, a national survey has found.
For the first time the General Medical Council’s (GMC) annual national training survey included optional questions about discriminatory behaviours in the workplace. Over half of trainees (59%; 28 994 of 49 022 respondents) answered these questions, and 12% said that this behaviour occurred monthly or more frequently.
A report into the survey’s findings said that this was unacceptable from a moral and a productivity standpoint.1 “The environment in which a doctor works plays a material role both in patient outcomes and staff satisfaction,” it said. “There’s a very real risk that the negative trends we’re seeing could not only impact on patient care, but also undermine retention, pushing doctors to leave the training pathway, if not the profession entirely.”
The survey found noticeable variation among specialties. For example, over 90% of trainees in …