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.