Blame for fiasco of doctor training
From Mmc
Blame for fiasco of doctor training
THE current Medical Training Application Service fiasco for junior doctor training has been well documented in this paper. It is worrying that those responsible for overseeing the medical profession are failing the junior doctors in the development of their careers but there is also an alarming lack of leadership.
Dr Harry Burns, the Chief Medical Officer, and others, seem to have managed to demotivate completely and discourage junior medical staff in leading them to total uncertainty in a system that has no obvious direction. The "goalposts" in this system change regularly, leaving junior doctors unable to make sensible decisions on their future careers. This is an unacceptable way to treat any workforce. All those involved in setting up and allowing the MTAS process to continue in its state of disarray should be ashamed of their leadership.
Dr Stuart Paterson, 18 Ashlar Avenue, Cumbernauld
IT IS interesting at this distance to observe the controversy about medical training. I can assure you that nothing could be as bad as the old system. In a six-month period at the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow in 1976, during my residency, there was not one single event which could remotely be described as training. advertisement
In Canada, residency lasts five years and the end product is at least as good as in Scotland. The Royal College mandates strict educational standards, backed up with the ability to place a programme on probation and, finally, if necessary to withdraw recognition.
Given that Canadian graduates attend interviews from St John's, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia, a trip from Glasgow to Aberdeen hardly elicits sympathy.
James Currie, MRCOG, FRCSC, 272 Edgeland Road NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
HARRY Burns's letter (March 13) is reminiscent of the infamous Iraqi Minister of Information's media broadcasts during the recent US invasion. Instead of US tanks in the background, as he proudly proclaimed imminent victory, it's 10,000 doctors on the streets in protest while he tells us that everything is just fine with Modernising Medical Careers. Keep shamelessly toeing the party line, Dr Burns, your OBE is in the post.
Dr Graham Robertson, Oban Drive, Glasgow
