Your RCP in 2025: putting the next generation of physicians at the heart of reform

From securing major policy wins on medical training and workforce reform to extending voting rights to collegiate members, 2025 has been a year of change and renewal for the RCP. We’ve celebrated excellence in medicine, supported our fellows and members at every career stage and spoken out on behalf of physicians in the UK and across the globe. 

Education remained at the core of what we do. Our flagship annual conferences, Medicine and Med+ 2025, reached thousands of delegates in person and online across the world, while over 1,500 attendees joined our regional Update in medicine conferences across the UK. 

Over the past year, the RCP has welcomed more than 3,000 new members and provided countless physicians with a world-leading selection of educational workshops, courses and career development opportunities. From leadership skills to clinical expertise, we’ve supported thousands of doctors to develop their knowledge and progress their careers.

The RCP also expanded its reach and influence. Media coverage more than doubled, parliamentary engagement increased, and the RCP continued to press for national action on workforce pressures, corridor care and the future of medical training. In a historic move to modernise college governance, voting rights were extended to collegiate members, strengthening representation and engagement across the membership. 

Alongside our 2025 video, we’ve published The voice of physicians: our 2025 emerging themes report, capturing the realities facing doctors working in increasingly pressured services. The report highlights widespread concerns about unsafe corridor care, rota gaps, delayed discharges and the sustainability of current training and workforce models.

Drawing on extensive engagement with consultants and resident doctors across the UK, the RCP is calling for urgent national action, including long-term, independently verified workforce planning; fair and flexible training reform with protected time for supervision; measures to close rota gaps and reduce reliance on locums; action to retain senior doctors; a national commitment to end corridor care; and investment in social care to improve patient flow.

As the college looks ahead to 2026, the message is clear: progress is driven by the commitment and passion of physicians. Together, the RCP and our members will continue to push for a system that is fairer, safer and better equipped to support both doctors and patients.