I didn't train as a doctor to prop up a struggling NHS – so I quit

I didn't train as a doctor to prop up a struggling NHS – so I quit Inflexible training and the pressure to work longer hours to cover staff shortages left me little time for my young child and took a toll on my health

Almost a year ago, I sat in the office of a counsellor, the third in five years, in another attempt to “learn how to cope” with the working life of a junior doctor. I was ready to hang up my stethoscope, which had become a noose around my neck.

The storm had been brewing since my early days as a junior doctor. On paper, I was blossoming: I had spent five years at university and six in acute specialties, building a CV shining with national prizes and publications. However, a crumbling NHS forcing doctors to compromise care and the inflexible path for mothers in part-time training led to my departure. After battling both for six years, I faced burnout and was directed to a counsellor to help me, in the words of senior male colleagues, “toughen up and comply with the system”.

There were nights when if the patient wasn’t nearing cardiac arrest, they weren’t sick enough to be seen Continue reading... The Guardian