The Truth about why Doctors and Nurses are leaving!

what is up guys I'm Dr Junior welcome back to my video today we're going to talk about something that has been all over the headlines and there's no getting away from it so let's just jump into it and break it down [Music] so where are all the doctors and nurses going my name is Dr Jude I am now a consultant orthopedic surgeon but I spent five years in medical school followed by 10 years working as a junior doctor and then two years working as a fellow so I have spent a lot of time in hospital and quick disclaimer this video is basically based on my opinion from what I have observed over more than a decade also it's based on some reading from online forums to articles from the BMA the GMC recent statistics which have been released also a lot of accounts I have watched a lot of videos from doctors and nurses probably more than 20 who have recently left and tried to make notes on their reasoning so hopefully this video will be valuable to the public to help them make sense of what is going on and also to any young doctors or nurses or students who might be feeling slightly anxious about the future and maybe about what role they are hopefully going to pay within medicine and I still think that it's a fantastic career there are problems and hopefully maybe even the department of health or the government will actually listen to what is being said in this video and thousands more like it and hopefully made those changes the waiting room was Bram I've never seen it like that it's like a really horrific board game in 2021 33 000 nurses quit their job and The Exodus of doctors from the NHS was the highest it has ever been and I don't think we can talk about this without addressing the elephant in a room and that of course is covered it was like a huge reset it forced us to reflect on our lives and reassess what is important to us and more than ever people want meaningful and enjoyable work our resilience is at an all-time low and actually there is the great resignation which transcends Josh Healthcare young people all over the world are readjusting what they do for a living I think more than ever doctors want flexibility and that is something that you don't really get in a career in healthcare I remember spending years as a junior doctor and having to work ruling rotors not really wanting to be in hospital on night shifts Christmases birthdays parents birthdays and having to miss several family functions because of my rotor and I just think that now there is much less tolerance to that amount of impact on one's life I remember being stuck inside in my 30s studying for exams all weekend with very little money whilst my friends from University were working in banking and enjoying big bonuses holidays for the family nice new homes and you couldn't help but feel that like you were several steps behind so I think there is a new normal after covid and that Goodwill frankly has run out working as a doctor means many early starts late nights lots of exams High pressured work high stakes and many doctors are human it should be rewarding but it often isn't because of this heightened level of anxiety and stress and I can tell you hands down doctors are worried about making mistakes worried about what that might mean for their career what that might mean for the patient and ultimately doctors are human so they can and will make mistakes at some point in their career and if you combine this with the fact that many doctors and nurses are working in institutions that have a staffing problem that is no secret there are thousands of Nursing and Doctor gaps across the country and so lots of doctors and nurses are complaining that they've built exposed they feel that they're more likely to make a mistake and when you combine this with the litigasis nature of healthcare it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle because they feel exposed because of low staff numbers and they they are then choosing to go and do less pressured work in other Industries which actually then makes the Staffing crisis worse and it's slightly unique working in healthcare when you make a mistake because you can and many doctors and nurses have been dragged in social media in mainstream media have been even prosecuted and sent to jail investigated and prevented from working and earning a living whilst the investigation is underway so it can be very stressful man mental physical emotional burnout is very real in hospital and I honestly don't think I know a single doctor who would claim not to have experienced this to some degree over the last few years covered completely exhausted healthcare workers emotional and physical reserves and since then there has really been no opportunity to recover whilst it was not perfect or great for anybody other sectors had the opportunity to work from home or adjust their working arrangements and so whilst the world stayed home we went to work and if you cast your mind back to the level of Stress and Anxiety at this new novel virus that was killing people seemingly more aggressive in healthcare workers and minorities it was it was worrying and I think that when we were raising the alarm Bells especially in the pandemic especially during a time where not only were we seeing the British public suffer but we were seeing our own colleagues suffer we were seeing our own colleagues in itu beds we were seeing our own colleagues on ventilators so I think the fact that if the politicians don't listen to us at such an acute time on wearing such higher levels of distress I really think it's a shame on British politics and whilst they applaud it in the streets and people came into their balconies and at their front doors and collect healthcare workers and created this ethos of the heroic healthcare worker we certainly didn't feel like that and there was a complete disconnect from reality and we feel as though the government has just not really backed up that good nature and that appreciation with action and since then it's really been one catastrophe after another from flu endemics several new strains and multiple waves of covid we've had the cost of living crisis the Russian Ukrainian War fuel gate and now of course we're in a recession and there are several accounts of nurses really struggling to make ends meet and having to eat at food banks I thought they were Heroes so I think a lot of healthcare workers don't even know that they're burned out they're just exhausted they are depleted they are done and they are leaving this one is really difficult to pin down but I definitely feel as though there has been a change in hospital culture and this is reflected in the junior doctor training surveys and the NHS staff surveys Junior doctors feel far disconnected from senior doctors Frontline clinical staff build up policy makers and management have no idea what it's like and because of the structure of shift work it's much more difficult to build that Bond as a team and this is quite difficult for me to discuss to be honest but if you look at the rates of harassment bullying racism claims of block to Career progression based on prejudice it is not getting any lower and there isn't a trust in the entire country that doesn't have its own fair share of issues I'm not claiming to have the answers I'm just telling you what it is lots of hospitals have created anti-bullying campaigns there have been lots of Stamp Out racism projects but the results are still up pretty poor to do something about that anyways I remember being an fy1 doctor which is sort of like being an intern on a busy surgical rotation and that meant lots of late nights which wasn't paid for it meant coming in early it meant high pressure work but I remember in general I did enjoy it because I knew that I wanted to be a surgeon and actually some of my bondess memories were like Christmas parties or Friday night beers with my team and it was an opportunity to connect with senior doctors and Consultants who I didn't necessarily know were normal people and human but you have a beer with these guys and they let their hair down and you realize they're pretty cool these are pretty cool people and actually one day I might be a surgeon and now that I am the consultant I think it's really important that we are seen to be human and we are able to talk to the Juniors and they feel open to come and speak to us at any opportunity and so that's how I do it training is long it's expensive it's difficult and without connecting with and inspiring the next generation of doctor they're going to keep dropping out and many of them are realizing that actually there is no pot of gold at the end there's just more work and more stress traditionally in British history being a doctor was Noble work in previous eras we were defined by our profession and had intrinsic value linked to this if you went into a bank and said you were a surgeon you'd be greeted with a hearty warm Shake by the manager and you'd be treated well but let's be honest today nobody cares with 18 year old footballers earning in one day or the British NHS surgeon in one year times have changed we live in a more consumerist capitalist culture people work so that they can go on nice holidays buy nice things and have Tech that makes them happy and there are a lot easier ways in becoming a surgeon to do that and so the other elephant in the room is pay and it's no secret it's poor doctors and nurses have been subjected to minuscule pay Rises and almost a decade of pay freezing which the government called austerity but whatever you want to call it current pay does not reflect the level of training the skill and expertise the risks and of course the impact that current Healthcare professionals make every single day and over this time the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing have estimated a pay cut of more than 30 percent so it's not surprising that many doctors and nurses are leaving for higher paid work elsewhere some are staying within Healthcare but going to other countries I know several doctors who are doing this not just Junior doctors actually lots of Consultants as well and over the last five years I know doctors who have gone to the US Canada back to India the Middle East the Caribbean Australia New Zealand Nigeria you name it doctors are migrating there is definitely an exodus to greener pastures and of course we are now living in a digital entrepreneurship Revolution and doctors and nurses are very bright very intelligent people and so unsurprisingly they are growing it alone building businesses that are making them lots more money than they would have made as Junior doctors or they're actually taking up work in med tech in management consultancy and almost overnight doubling or tripling their salaries so unsurprisingly the nurses have recently voted to strike and I'm pretty sure the junior doctors will be after that and I would not be surprised if the Consultants were after that which would be unprecedented but not surprising but very sad because going through dozens and dozens of accounts of doctors and nurses who have left the NHS one of the commonest themes I'm seeing is that they did not feel supported or able to provide the level and quality of care that they had set out wanting to when they embarked on this career and for that reason they decided to leave and so if we do not address this quickly Healthcare in the UK is going to look very different over the next 10 years not in a good way of course we are recruiting from overseas but actually even now many overseas doctors and nurses are actually quitting as well and leaving so there isn't even the answer I think we need to find ways to keep doctors and nurses within the system there is actually a silver lining well at least I think so and that is now is a good time to be a young surgeon because we have an opportunity to innovate we have an opportunity to bring in Chains to introduce new ways of working to reshape our NHS for the future to renegotiate pay structures to create a system that works for people and is brought up to date to modern times I think it's quite exciting to be starting out as a consultant and if you are a junior doctor coming through personally I think now is a time that we can actually leave a positive Legacy on the NHS otherwise we're going to lose it so I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes and that is a pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity but an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty so be an optimist [Music] thank you

Channel: DR JUDE

Views: 431,191

Keywords: quitting medicine, doctor, medical school, leaving medicine, surgeon, nurse, doctors leaving medicine, nurses leaving medicine, burnout, why are doctors leaving, doctor jobs, what do doctors do after quitting medicine, nurse life, dr jude, life as a surgeon, british doctors, the nhs, why doctors are leaving the nhs

Id: KyeWer91_Dk

Length: 14min 49sec (889 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 01 2023