IMAGINE YOU ARE E.T.
WHAT WOULD YOU THINK?
The Witch Doctor felt it was time to review the “MODERNISING MEDICAL CAREERS WEBSITE”” to see whether there were any clues as to the real reason driving this change. Of particular interest was whether there was any reference to the increasing numbers of women in medicine.
This is the summary at the beginning. The only part that most people who are not directly involved nor delving deeply will read.
The bold italics are my emphasis.
What is MMC?
“Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) aims to improve patient care by delivering a modernised and focused career structure for doctors through a major reform of postgraduate medical education. It aims to develop demonstrably competent doctors who are skilled at communicating and working as effective members of a team. As training and education are central to the work of doctors and their role in delivering patient care, MMC will also bring about significant changes to career structures, providing qualified staff who are able to meet the needs of patients.
“To do this, MMC has created two-year foundation schools that will, for the first time, require doctors to demonstrate their abilities and competence against set standards. There will be an opportunity to develop experience in a range of specialties. This will offer doctors the chance to gain insight into possible career options or to build a wider appreciation of medicine before embarking on specialist training.
“Post-foundation, specialist/GP training will be streamlined to deliver specialists who are judgement-safe and able to deliver the care that is needed to treat patients, without compromising in any way on standards. Streamlined training will also afford further opportunities for supra specialisation that are flexible enough to allow doctors to adapt to accommodate changes in medical technology. In this way the new system under MMC aims to provide the right numbers of doctors to meet changing service needs.
“Streamlined training and explicit standards of assessed competence are also essential if doctors’ careers are to accommodate the pressures of a family and modern lifestyles. MMC aims to greatly improve the opportunities for those who wish to take a break in their careers and will promote fairness and equality of opportunity at all stages of a doctors’ career.
“Modernising Medical Careers is also a key enabler for other flagship programmes in the Department of Health. It is focused on the development of a flexible workforce of doctors, who are both competent at dealing with the acutely ill and who are effective at communicating with patients and colleagues alike. These skills and the absolute guarantee of standards from new methods of assessment are key to the success of modern workforce programmes like the Hospital at Night, and the Working Time Directive. Most importantly, however, MMC will deliver a modern training scheme and career structure that will allow clinical professionals to support real patient choice.”
Indeed, after reading this, an alien from another planet could be forgiven for concluding that, at the moment, all the ailments of the NHS are due to the weaknesses of the medical profession. The implication being that the present system is producing untrained, unfocused, incompetent, unqualified, inexperienced doctors, unable to meet the need of patients, and who are even unsure what to do with the acutely ill - doctors who lack judgement and are unable to communicate with patients or staff. i.e they don’t know where they are going or what they are doing.
Never fear. Benevolent Great Uncle MMC will solve all this! Thank goodness!
How patronising! How untrue!
Who wrote this?
Why?
A subliminal implication of incompetence.
No, the real reason for Modernising Medical Careers lies in the wording:
“pressures of family and modern lifestyles”
“break in careers”
“flexible workforce.”
i.e. the increase in the female workforce.
and, of course, “the Working Time Directive”
The rest is spin. Negative spin.
Why?
And……an alien from another planet would probably also ask “What the hell is Hospital at Night?”
