Resident Doctor Retention

Understanding why resident doctors leave the NHS and what can be done to retain them: A realist synthesis

What is the problem?

There are not enough NHS staff currently to provide the healthcare that the public need. Therefore, the NHS plans to train more staff, and to improve their experience of work, so that fewer leave before retirement age.

Nearly half of all NHS doctors are resident doctors i.e. qualified doctors who are not yet consultants or general practitioners. Many resident doctors choose to leave the NHS, for example to work abroad or for a different career. We need to keep resident doctors in the NHS so they can care for patients. Resident doctors may have lots of reasons for leaving, such as long hours, not enough support, and restricted opportunities for learning. We need to understand better why resident doctors leave, in order to help them to stay.

This research aims to:

• Explain why resident doctors leave the NHS.
• Show how this varies for different doctors.
• Suggest what can be done to keep them in the NHS.

What is planned?

We will review the literature using a research design called ‘realist synthesis’. First, we will search for research papers which have already been written about different types of resident doctors in different areas of medicine (e.g. surgery, emergency departments) and different places (e.g. hospitals, primary care). Then we will read these papers carefully and analyse them using realist methods.

The research will be guided by an Advisory Group, which includes Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) representatives, resident doctors and other relevant individuals, who will work alongside the research team throughout the project. The Advisory Group will:

• Involve a range of people (e.g. different ages, genders, ethnicities) to ensure the widest possible spectrum of feedback.
• Help us to make sense of the research findings.
• Comment on practical changes to keep resident doctors in the NHS.

The project team includes researchers and doctors, with a range of backgrounds. We are experts on the topic and research method. We have national networks of people who can help us to make changes in the NHS. We have worked together before on similar large research studies, so we are confident we can deliver a successful project.

Where will this lead?

The research will:

• provide a better understanding of why resident doctors leave the NHS and what can be done to prevent this. 
• help employers to support resident doctors better and improve their experiences, so they choose to stay working in the NHS.

We will share our findings with other researchers, people who support and employ resident doctors and resident doctors themselves. We will do this in multiple ways (e.g. written summaries, posters, podcasts, journal articles, conference presentations) because we know people need information in different forms.

For more information, please Contact Us or visit: https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR161457