Only a quarter of training doctors feel prepared for next step in their career – RCP survey

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By Ella Pickover, Press Association

Education for doctors in training is “too often treated as something that can be postponed or cancelled when services are under pressure”, leading medics have said.

The Royal College of Physicians said that postgraduate medical training needs to be “reformed”.

The college said that “years of underinvestment in medical education, eroded learning opportunities and inadequate accountability for training quality risk undermining patient care”.

A new report highlights a survey of more than 1,000 UK resident doctors in 2025 which found that only 26% felt prepared for the next step in their career.

Just two-thirds (65%) of medics in training who took part in the poll said they expected to remain working in the NHS in five years’ time, with experts saying this highlights the “risks to both training and workforce retention if reform is not delivered”.

The report warns that patient safety is “directly influenced” by the quality of doctor training.