Doctors in internal medicine training (IMT) from across the UK joined the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) for a special Meet your president (MYP) conversation last week, taking part in a wide-ranging discussion about training, career progression and the future physician workforce.
Supporting the next generation of physicians
The session started with news about the RCP’s next generation campaign, launched in late 2024 in response to member feedback on worsening morale, growing service pressures, rota gaps, rising competition ratios and inequitable access to training opportunities.
RCP president Professor Mumtaz Patel outlined how the next generation campaign is shaping the national debate on medical training and workforce reform, including:
- a position statement on competition ratios
- contributions to the national review of postgraduate medical training
- influence on the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan
- the extension of RCP voting rights to collegiate members.
‘We want the resident doctor voice to be front and centre in all of that we do. What we try to do as a college is amplify those voices. We want to advocate for change that’s going to drive improvements in your working environment and your training experience.’
Professor Mumtaz Patel
RCP president
Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill
The session also explored the proposed Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill, which would see UK medical graduates prioritised for training places. Mumtaz reiterated the RCP’s position: supporting fairness in recruitment, protecting international medical graduates (IMGs) already working in the NHS and avoiding approaches that could worsen workforce shortages.
Training and career progression
Joined by RCP Linacre fellow, Dr Shruthi Konda, Mumtaz led a question and answer session with resident doctors that covered a wide range of practical issues, including:
- training limitations in smaller district general hospitals, with advice on escalation routes and alternative ways to meet curriculum requirements
- IMT3 rotations and specialty choice, clarifying that JRCPTB guidance encourages doctors in training to use IMY3 as an opportunity to undertake a specialty complementary to any chosen career path
- academic careers, with guidance on building research experience, networking and exploring opportunities beyond local regions
- CESR and portfolio pathways, highlighting the importance of using e-portfolios early and consistently
- ultrasound skills and the IMT curriculum, noting that curriculum reviews are ongoing, with supervision capacity a key consideration
‘You barely get to say hello and goodbye, let alone get to know someone. That’s the reality of rotational training now, and it makes meaningful mentoring and supervision really hard.’
Dr Shruthi Konda
RCP Linacre fellow
Key themes
Across the session and chat discussion, several consistent themes emerged:
- A strong sense of training–service imbalance, with service pressures limiting learning opportunities.
- A continued focus on equity and fairness, particularly for IMGs and locally employed doctors.
- Anxiety about competition ratios and career progression, especially at IMT3 and ST4 transition points.
- Concerns about supervision quality and access to skills, including procedural experience.
- Wider workforce pressures, burnout and retention, alongside calls to improve job satisfaction.
Closing the event, Mumtaz reaffirmed the RCP’s commitment to amplifying the resident doctor voice in national policy discussions. Attendees were encouraged to remain engaged with the RCP, vote in upcoming elections and take part in opportunities such as Call the medical registrar and the virtual poster competition.
Interested in this? You might like…
- Are you a specialty registrar? Join our upcoming MYP session on 23 March, 6.30pm.
- Next gen series webinar: GUM – 22 April, 6:30pm. Free for RCP subscribing members.
- The Med26 abstract competition is now open. Submit your entry by 1 March.
- Developed by resident doctors for resident doctors, our next gen webinar series is aimed at IMT1s-ST3s and covers a range of clinical and non-clinical subjects.