Why Are So Many Resident Doctors Leaving the UK? An Insight for Future Medical Students
- Suhaani Sathish
- 44 minutes ago
- 9 min read
If you’ve been following the news, you’ll know that the NHS is in the middle of one of the most challenging periods in its history. You’ll also have seen headlines about resident doctors leaving the UK, disputes over pay, and workforce shortages across hospitals.
For prospective medical students, this can feel overwhelming. You’re in the midst of preparing to join a profession built on compassion and teamwork, yet the system itself is under real pressure. So what is actually happening, and why? And what does it mean in the context of applying to medical school today?
This article breaks down why so many junior doctors (also called resident doctors) are leaving the UK, what’s driving the NHS “doctor exodus,” and, most importantly, how you can talk about this topic confidently in medical school interviews.
Resident doctors are leaving the NHS primarily due to real-term pay cuts, high burnout rates, and inflexible rotas. Many are migrating to countries like Australia and New Zealand for better work-life balance and higher salaries, creating a significant retention crisis that you must understand for your medical school interviews.
At a Glance: Why Are Resident Doctors Leaving the UK?
Real-terms pay cuts and rising living costs: Junior doctor pay has fallen significantly since 2008, while training fees, rent and basic expenses have risen, pushing many early-career doctors to seek better pay abroad.
Unsustainable workloads and rota gaps in the NHS: Chronic understaffing and high patient demand mean resident doctors routinely face burnout, unpaid overtime, and unsafe staffing conditions.
Limited training opportunities and delayed career progression: Competitive speciality training, non-training posts and bottlenecks leave many junior doctors feeling stuck and professionally undervalued.
Better pay, working conditions and lifestyle overseas: Countries like Australia and New Zealand offer higher salaries, safer rotas, improved staffing and more work–life balance, attracting UK-trained doctors.
Significant impact on NHS patient safety and workforce sustainability: High attrition rates increase waiting times, strain emergency care and cost the NHS billions, making this an essential issue for future medical students to understand.
How Big Is the Problem? The Scale of UK Junior Doctors Leaving the NHS
The Numbers Behind the Junior Doctor 'Exodus'
Surveys from the BMA and GMC consistently show that a significant proportion of junior doctors are considering leaving the NHS, either to work abroad or to leave medicine entirely.
Many report pay, workload, poor work-life balance, and feeling undervalued as their reasons behind the decision.
It’s important to understand the distinctions:
Some doctors leave the NHS but not the UK (for example, to do locum, private or portfolio work).
Some leave the UK entirely to work in countries offering better pay and conditions.
A smaller number leave medicine altogether.
For workforce planning, all three matter.
‘Junior Doctor’ vs ‘Resident Doctor’: What Does It Mean?
In England, the term “resident doctor” has now been introduced to replace “junior doctor,” aiming to improve public understanding and highlight the professionalism and responsibility of early-career doctors. Both terms refer to doctors who are not yet consultants or GPs.
Why Does This Topic Matters for Medical Students?
Medical schools expect their applicants to:
Have an awareness of the real issues facing the NHS
Speak about them calmly, professionally and neutrally
Understand the context in which you are choosing a career
Being informed doesn’t make you less committed. In fact, a well-rounded understanding makes you more prepared, and allows you to develop sincere answers during your Medical School Interview.
👉🏻 Read more: 7 Tips to Ace Your MMI Medical School Interview
Push Factors – Why Are Junior Doctors Leaving the NHS and the UK?
1. Real-Terms Pay Cuts and Cost of Living Pressures
Junior doctor pay has fallen significantly in real terms since 2008. Many resident doctors feel their salary no longer reflects their responsibilities, workload, or years spent training.
Combine that with increasing living costs: rent, commuting, exams and even GMC registration fees. For this reason, many doctors say that the career is simply becoming financially unsustainable.
This frustration has contributed to ongoing strikes and widespread disillusionment.
2. Workload Pressures, Rota Gaps and Burnout
Many NHS departments operate chronically understaffed. When a rota has gaps, the doctors who remain often end up:
Covering multiple wards
Staying late after shifts
Losing breaks
Running unsafe workloads - working outside of their remits.
3. Lack of Training Opportunities and Career Progression
Training bottlenecks are another major factor. Many junior doctors struggle to secure training posts on their first attempt due to:
High competition for speciality training
Limited number of funded posts
Increasing exam pressures and portfolio demands
Some get stuck in non-training roles, delaying their progression. For an ambitious junior doctor, this can be incredibly frustrating.
4. Workplace Culture and Feeling Undervalued
Surveys show high levels of:
Bullying or undermining behaviour
Feeling blamed when systemic issues cause problems
A lack of meaningful support from management
Poor access to rest areas, healthy breaks or wellbeing resources
5. Wellbeing and Work–Life Balance
The combination of:
Long shifts
Nights and weekends
High-pressure decision-making
Emotional strain: Some doctors feel as if they have no control over their lives and no say in their working schedule.
Some struggle to maintain relationships, a family life, or their hobbies. Others feel as if their mental health is declining. For many, leaving the UK is a way to regain balance and stability.
Pull Factors – Why Are UK Doctors Moving to Australia, New Zealand and Beyond?
1. Higher Pay in Australia, New Zealand and Canada
Doctors often report earning significantly higher salaries abroad, sometimes 1.5–2x their UK pay, depending on seniority and speciality.
Some overseas jobs offer:
Relocation bonuses
Paid flights
Housing allowances
Improved overtime rates
2. Better Working Conditions and Staffing
In countries like Australia or New Zealand, doctors commonly report:
Better staffing ratios
Safer rotas
More predictable hours
Less pressure during shifts
Greater autonomy
3. Lifestyle Benefits
Good weather, beaches, outdoor life, and a more relaxed pace are significant pull factors. Many doctors initially go abroad “just for a year”, but end up staying long-term after experiencing a healthier work–life balance.
4. Training and Career Opportunities
Some overseas healthcare systems offer clearer pathways, more funded training positions, or opportunities for fellowship experiences.
For ambitious doctors, it can feel like progression is faster and more supported abroad.
What Does This Mean for You as a Prospective Medical Student?
Should This Put You Off Studying Medicine?
No, however, you should be aware of the realities of studying medicine.
Medicine within the NHS still remains,
One of the most meaningful, impactful careers you can have.
A profession with incredible variety and diversity
A globally transferable degree
Equally, it is also challenging, emotionally demanding, and shaped by the health system you work in.
Understanding the reality makes you a stronger applicant, not a weaker one.
How to Talk About This in Medical School Interviews
This topic appears frequently in interview questions such as:
“Why are so many junior doctors leaving the NHS?”
“Would you still choose medicine given today’s pressures?”
“How would you fix the NHS workforce crisis?”
Use this structured approach:
Acknowledge the issue: Mention pay, workload, morale and burnout. Keep your tone neutral and factual.
Show empathy and insight: Talk about the impact on patient care, remaining staff and system sustainability.
End with a balanced, personal perspective: Explain why you still want to pursue medicine, how the challenges motivate you, and how you hope to contribute positively.
When students ask me how to prepare for questions on this topic, I tell them to look beyond just reading news headlines. Many popular resources or generic interview books only list the problems without explaining the impact. In my professional experience, simply listing negative statistics will not impress an interviewer.
This is precisely why we developed TheUKCATPeople's Medicine Interview Tutoring to provide a complete solution. We teach you to analyse these hot topics critically - balancing empathy for staff with a commitment to patient care - something self-study often misses.
Will Things Change By the Time You Graduate?
Yes, things should change by the time you graduate. Healthcare is constantly evolving. The government has plans to:
Increase UK medical school places
Expand training capacity
Improve workforce planning
The NHS you work in could look completely different: with more digital health, team-based care, and new professional roles.
👉🏻 Read more: Common NHS Hot Topics
Wider Impacts – Why Doctors Leaving the UK Matters for Patients and the NHS
Impact on Patient Safety
When doctors leave:
Waiting lists grow
Rotas stretched thin
Clinics are cancelled
Emergency care becomes strained
Staff shortages directly affect patient experience and outcomes.
Financial Cost to the NHS
Training a doctor costs hundreds of thousands of pounds. When doctors leave early in their careers, the NHS effectively loses that investment.
Some estimates place the cost of poor retention in the billions.
Ethical Questions Around Relying on Overseas Doctors
As UK doctors leave, the NHS increasingly recruits from abroad. However, this raises ethical dilemmas, especially when recruiting from countries facing their own doctor shortages.
This is a key discussion point for interviews.
How Future Doctors Can Respond – Constructive Ways to Engage With the Crisis
1. Protect Your Own Well-being Early
Well-being habits start in medical school:
Sufficient sleep
Exercise
Support networks
Setting healthy boundaries
Seeking help early
A sustainable career starts with looking after yourself.
2. Get Involved in Advocacy
You can contribute through:
Student unions
BMA medical student committees
Quality improvement projects
Wellbeing initiatives
Hospital leadership programmes
You don’t need to set out to “fix the NHS”, but you can be part of gradual, meaningful change.
3. Stay Informed Without Becoming Overwhelmed
Stick to credible sources like:
BMA
GMC
BMJ
NHS England
Resident Doctor Interview Questions
In your medical school interviews, you need to be prepared to discuss this topic without sounding overly negative. Here is how questions on this topic usually appear.
Likely Questions
We are currently seeing many junior doctors leaving for Australia. Why do you think this is happening?
What are the main challenges facing the NHS workforce today?
Given the current retention crisis and strikes, why do you still want to study medicine?
Discuss the ethical implications of the NHS recruiting doctors from developing countries to plug workforce gaps.
Less Likely Questions (Harder/Niche)
How would you solve the retention crisis if you were the Health Secretary?
Do you think medical graduates who receive taxpayer-funded training should be bonded to work in the NHS for a set number of years? (This tests your understanding of justice in medical ethics.)
Conclusion – Informed, Not Discouraged
The fact that many junior doctors are leaving the UK reflects real issues with pay, workload, training pressures and workplace culture. But it doesn’t mean the profession is broken, or that you shouldn’t apply.
The NHS needs the next generation of doctors: thoughtful, informed, motivated and resilient young people who understand the challenges but are willing to work toward solutions.
If you’re still excited about becoming a doctor after understanding these issues, you’re already showing the insight, maturity and commitment that Interview tutors look for.
👉🏻 Read more: Common Medicine Interview Questions
10 FAQs about Why Doctors Are Leaving the NHS
1. Why are doctors leaving the NHS?
Mainly due to a combination of real-term pay cuts, high burnout rates, and inflexible rotas. These "push factors" are driving many resident doctors to seek better work-life balance and salaries in overseas healthcare systems.
2. Why are so many junior doctors moving to Australia and New Zealand?
These countries act as major "pull factors" by offering significantly higher salaries (often 1.5x–2x UK pay), legally enforced safe staffing ratios, and a lifestyle that supports a healthier work–life balance compared to the NHS.
3. Has junior doctor pay really fallen in real terms?
Yes. According to the BMA, when adjusted for inflation (RPI), resident doctor pay has eroded by approximately 26% since 2008. This financial strain is a primary driver for the current strikes and retention crisis.
4. How do rota gaps affect NHS doctors?
Rota gaps mean wards are chronically understaffed. In my experience, this forces the remaining doctors to cover extra work, miss breaks, and stay late, leading to "moral injury" and burnout as they struggle to provide safe patient care.
5. Are junior doctors leaving medicine entirely?
While some do leave the profession, the majority are simply leaving the NHS. Most move to healthcare systems abroad (like Australia) or transition into locum work and private sectors where they feel more valued and better compensated.
6. Will this workforce crisis affect future medical students?
Yes, you will likely face busy wards. However, the system is evolving. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan aims to increase training numbers, so the landscape may look different by the time you graduate in five or six years.
7. Should I still apply to medical school if doctors are leaving the UK?
Yes. I always tell students that medicine remains a uniquely rewarding and globally transferable career. Understanding these current challenges before you apply simply makes you a more resilient and realistic candidate than those who ignore them.
8. What is the difference between a junior doctor and a resident doctor?
They are the same thing. "Resident doctor" is the new official term (adopted in Sept 2024) to replace "junior doctor," aiming to better reflect the expertise of qualified doctors who are not yet consultants or GPs.
9. How can I talk about this issue in medical school interviews?
I advise students to use the "Identify, Empathise, Pivot" structure. Acknowledge the valid reasons for leaving (pay/burnout), express empathy for the staff, but pivot to your own resilience and commitment to the patient-facing role.
10. Will NHS working conditions improve in the future?
There is a roadmap for change. The government's NHS Long Term Workforce Plan commits to doubling medical school places and increasing training capacity to reduce the pressure on staff, though these changes will take time to implement.
Comments