Flexible training under the new deal

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Abstract
Increasing numbers of women are qualifying in medicine—50% of house officers and more than half of medical school entrants are female. 1 2 Most of these doctors will marry and have children, and up to 70% would like to work part time at some stage of their careers.3–5 Opportunities for part time training have improved vastly since the first scheme was launched in 1969, and the changing regulations have allowed the number of flexible trainees to increase to 1200 in 2001, which represents 7% of all specialist registrars. 1 6 7 Part time training is not restricted to women with children—anyone with well founded reasons can apply—but they form by far the largest group.7 Forty three per cent of women doctors marry doctors.3 Even more than in other families where both partners have careers, doctors face particular problems of shift work, on-call commitments, and geographical mobility. If part time work were unavailable, the alternative for many of these women doctors would be to …