What the Next Generation of Doctors Want from a Career in Psychiatry: Longitudinal Survey of UK Trainees and Medical Students

Workforce planning aims to model and predict supply and demand in medical specialties. In Scotland it is undertaken jointly by the Scottish Government and the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland to ensure workforce sustainability. The survey described in this paper aimed to ascertain why doctors continue to choose to take a break from/delay training programmes or pursue alternative jobs and career pathways. Career breaks, time out of training, less than full-time working patterns, dual training and non-clinical careers need to be taken into account during workforce planning not only to make psychiatry an attractive specialty to work in, but to ensure robust future sustainability in the psychiatric workforce in Scotland and the UK.