What you'll get from this report

• How widespread presenteeism is among doctors and medical students and how often clinicians are working despite poor health.
• The key drivers behind presenteeism, including moral pressure, system-level staffing shortages, rigid working practices, disability related barriers, and fear of discrimination.
• The impacts of working while unwell on patient safety, clinical decision making, productivity, and personal wellbeing.
• The prevalence of burnout across the profession.
• How experiences differ for groups with long term conditions, disabilities, minority ethnic backgrounds, and those awaiting healthcare treatment.
• The variable access to occupational health, mental health support, reasonable adjustments, and structured return to work processes.

What you can do

The intrinsic moral pressure to support colleagues by always being present is significant but should be reframed and expressed differently.

• Doctors and medical students should support and encourage their peers to take breaks, to reflect on one’s own wellbeing and to consider the longer-term effects of working or training when unwell.
• Senior colleagues should set an example which recognises the importance of individual wellbeing.
• Raise issues regarding missed breaks, fatigue and facilities, or sleep deprivation to employers with the support of local representatives and the local negotiating committee (LNC) and, where necessary, create action plans committing the employer to ensure issues are resolved in partnership with doctors.
• Individuals who think flexible working may benefit their wellbeing should explore similar working patterns to understand more about any broadly comparable arrangements already in place to inform a flexible working request. Employees are entitled to request flexible working arrangements from their first day of employment, and don’t have to provide a reason for their request.
• Those with a long-term health condition or disability may wish to request reasonable adjustments from their employer/education provider, as they are legally entitled to do, if they think adjustments may support them to carry out their work, training or study.
• Doctors and medical students should consider requesting a phased return following a period of absence from work or training if this would support their recovery and ensure they are able to return to working or training productively.