NHS junior doctors to be known as resident doctors after job title change

Junior doctors working across the NHS will now be called resident doctors instead - in a change intended to better reflect their expertise.

The doctors union, the British Medical Association (BMA), which called for the change, called the term junior "infantilising and demeaning".

"Resident doctor" will refer to more than 50,000 qualified doctors working in GP practices and hospitals - some recently out of medical school and others with a decade of experience.

Health ministers say they have accepted the new name as part of a drive to "reset the relationship" between NHS doctors and the government.

The BMA says many of its members said the term "junior" was confusing and wrongly implied doctors were unqualified.

BMA member Dr Lily Huang, who works in London and specialises in ear, nose and throat surgery, has been a qualified doctor working in NHS hospitals for seven years.

"When I say, 'junior doctor', my friends and family interpret that to mean I am still at medical school.

"It takes a lot of explaining to say I'm still in training to be a consultant but am not a student."

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Source: BBC News, 18 September 2024