Living with MTAS

This week's BMJ Careers provides a collection of articles focusing on the issue of the current job situation as a result of MMC and MTAS.


The Editor's choice : "living with MTAS" suggests junior doctors should be flexible and consider options and alternative careers.

This week and the next two, the BMJ Careers will feature articles about careers outside the NHS with the hope that junior doctors will be inspired and informed to consider alternative careers. There are some interesting articles :

• Working for the pharmaceutical industry


• Voluntary work is a good idea


• Pastures green - working abroad


• Having the best of both worlds - locuming


• Banking on it - a medical student's experience of working in the City finance sector
• Career decision making in an age of uncertainty

Extra posts for junior doctors

The Health Secretary promised extra posts for junior doctors to ease the crisis over MTAS.

She told MPs there would be 200 additional "run-through programmes" for doctors who are already in training for their chosen specialities. These 200 extra training posts will be at the ST3 entry level and made available in the second round of the application process. Further additional temporary posts - fixed-term specialist training appointments - also will be made available, but it is unclear how many.

The BMA estimates that 12,000 doctors will not get a post as a result of the system.