Okay, there is some real **** being spouted here. I'll let you in on my background a bit, I'm only 19 but would say I have a fair experience of the NHS having worked there for a year and pretty much all my family works in the NHS in various medical and admin roles. Last year I applied to study medicine but didn't get in because for the 110 places available there were 4000 applicants and I just wasn't good enough. This was after working my arse off in every exam since I was 11-12 because I knew what I wanted to do. So that's 6-7 years of working as hard as possible through school to hit the top grades required to even have the opportunity to apply. Then if you are lucky enough to get a place at medical school you then have 5-6 years at University where every year you have to work, unlike most courses where the first year is a bit of a doss.
After the 11-12 years you then have another 2 foundation years earning salaries LESS than some of the Nurses on the wards etc where you are working. For me that's fair because without nurses the NHS would fall apart at the seams but you don't go in earning £80k
So that's 13 years worth of extremely hard work to be earning 27k. It then probably takes 5-10 years to be earning anywhere near the figures that are being spouted out by some on here. If anyone can name another job that requires that amount of time and dedication to achieve I am all ears.
Now from my experience of working from inside the NHS, on an more admin side of things, working in A&E and on the wards. I would see doctors working 2-3hrs past their finishing time handing over patients REGULARLY whilst not being paid. I would also see doctors having to resuscitate babies, children, adults and old age people knowing that the person's life is in their hands. How often does Mr.Car Sales Exec have to resuscitate a 5 year old child whilst its parents are crying only meters away?
Then you have the actual admin side of things. I don't think anybody who comes from the private sector would believe how inefficient the NHS is run. Being on the bottom rung of the ladder I had 5 levels of managers just to get to directorate manager, who coincidentally was earning £80K+ more than probably 99% of the medical staff.
Ok you have little experience in the NHS, and its quite obvious.
The first couple of years of med school can be a doss, you are not working clinically for a while, and the placements you do are not exactly difficult.
As for junior doctors getting paid less than "some" ward staff, is they have less responsibility and are pretty clueless. Look at the figures for patient poor outcomes, yes every year when the new House officers start or the new name for them, it gets worse, thats a fact. Some ward nurses have worked years to get where they are at so a day one, week one baby doctor should not get as much as a senior nurse. Nurses on the wards, assess treat, prescribe and discharge. Some specialist nurses are even on the Doctors rota!!! There is an adage of "be nice to nurses, they stop Doctors killing you"
Resuscitation of a 5 yr old, well to be honest Doctors are not the best at running resuscitations, how many Doctors are on a hospitals Resus training teams... hmm that will be none. As nurses and other health care professionals are quite capable of doing ALS, ATLS, PALS etc.
The reason handovers take long times is 2 fold, one the junior docs admin is usually up his arse, they are short staffed and won't speak out (as its still very much a kiss arse jobs for the boys/girls promotion structure). So really they have a hand in it. They do claim overtime/time back and take it!!! Nurses also regularly work over.
I am sorry but lots of people do it for the money, and or social status, rather than the patient. Ask a doctor what the "hip replacement in bed 4" is called, bet you they don't know, why, because actually they are not interested in the patient. A lot of my colleagues especially surgeons do it for their own gratification, there attitude is look how good my surgery is, look what I have done for you. Most would also rather do a private session as spend time at home with their kids, why? greed for more money.
Please don't come the oh its a hard life, its not, I have never seen a poor doctor with all those student debts, thats just laughable.
Saying that, I agree that the pension was something that went with the job and no one should start changing terms and conditions years down the line.
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