Six in 10 doctors in training at high or moderate risk of burnout, GMC finds

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By Daniel Pye

There is "real concern" for the wellbeing of resident doctors as more than one in five are at high risk of burnout, the General Medical Council has said.

The medical regulator’s 2025 national training survey found 61% are at moderate or high risk of burnout.

It was also "extremely concerning" that one in five resident doctors said they had felt apprehensive about escalating a patient to the supervising clinician, the GMC said.

While 79% reported never feeling apprehensive, 21% said they had hesitated at least once in the last 12 months, according to the survey of more than 50,000 doctors in training across the UK.

The figure rose to nearly a third in specialties such as surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, medicine, and emergency medicine. Those most hesitant to escalate care were also more likely to experience burnout.

Professor Pushpinder Mangat, medical director and director of education and standards at the GMC, said: “These findings are extremely concerning because doctors need to work in environments where they feel comfortable escalating. When they don’t, there are potentially serious risks to patient safety.”