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Dumbing Down Doctors
A clever system to keep doctors from learning by redirecting them into
fields they are not interested in, and telling them, "you don't get
another chance" is nothing more than a capitalist pathocracy intended to
expand control of the mind and medicine profits.
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Opposition grows to doctor recruitment scheme
16 March 2007 - societyguardian.co.uk
Calls were stepped up today for the government to
abandon a controversial new process of recruiting junior doctors to
specialist training posts.
A poll of more than 1,700 people, including more than 400 consultants,
found that most want the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) application
process dropped.
The new system, launched earlier this month, has been beset by
problems, including computer crashes and strong applicants being
overlooked.
Under the scheme, all junior doctors had to reapply for their posts as
part of the system to modernise job applications. A row broke out
after it emerged that around 30,000 junior doctors had applied for
22,000 places and many of the best-qualified candidates had failed to
get a single job interview.
The British Medical Association then wrote to the health secretary,
Patricia Hewitt, saying that the "fatally flawed" system would "haunt
the NHS for years to come".
Last week, the government conceded that it had found "shortcomings" in
the MMC application process and ordered an urgent review. But it said
it would continue with the scheme. |
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Comment: Admit the problem, carefully
distract it by saying it will be looked into, and re-justify the
scheme all in one breath. What a scam!
Health minister Lord Hunt said scrapping the first round of the
process would only cause more confusion.
Junior doctors are due to hold demonstrations against the new system
in London and Glasgow tomorrow.
The results of today's poll showed junior doctors that they were not
alone, said its organiser, Cambridge University professor Morris
Brown.
Details of the poll emerged as senior medics wrote an open
letter to the British Medical Journal (BMJ) warning that the future of
medical research in the UK was under threat from the new recruitment
and training process.
Professor John Bell, the president of the Academy of Medical Sciences
and Professor Sir John Tooke, the chair of the Council of Heads of
Medical Schools, said the government's vision of the UK as a
world-class centre for biomedical research and healthcare could "not
be realised" without a research-oriented medical workforce.
Prof Bell said: "Many of our fellows, who work at the forefront of
medical research, have expressed concern over the new system for
medical training.
"Debate thus far has centered on the application system; however,
attention must be paid to addressing the balance between clinical and
research experience in order to deliver a workforce able to undertake
world-class biomedical research and healthcare."
The letter said: "Academic trainees - those doctors wishing to pursue
careers which encompass research as well as patient care - have been
particularly badly affected by the decision to anonymise applications
and deprive the assessors of details of previous clinical and research
experience.
"These trainees, who are amongst the brightest of their generation,
are a precious commodity."
They welcomed the government's review, which Lord Hunt has said will
report by the end of the month and which includes medical
representatives.
But Prof Brown, clinical supervisor and professor of
clinical pharmacology at the University of Cambridge, said the review
"has done nothing to assuage the juniors".
Promises that applicants could try in the second round were not good
enough.
He said: "Many doctors preferring to be a physician (for instance) or
psychiatrist, were allocated instead to interviews in surgery or
general practice, and will not receive a second chance.
"Those rejected altogether may not find any of their preferred options
available in the second round.
"I set up a website to sample medical opinion about Lord Hunt's
apparent climbdown.
"A large majority wish the process to be stopped altogether and those
responsible not to climb down but to step down.
"In just three days, we have had 1,763 named respondents, including
401 consultants."
Prof Brown said 85% to 90% want the first and second rounds of
interviews aborted now.
"All but 119 (ie almost 95%) believe the architects of MMC should
resign," he added.
Only 207 respondents considered MMC to be an improvement upon the
previous system, he said, adding "the results are still pouring in".
Professor O'Rahilly, the chair of the Medical Research Society, also
spoke out about threats to the future of medical research.
He said: "The dumbing down of the assessment and training of doctors
amounts to one of the biggest threats to clinical research that we
have seen for decades.
"We welcome the ministerial climbdown on the computerised application
system, but it's important that we make a broader point about the
folly of 'dumbing down' the assessment of doctors at the very time
that the Government is having a major push to make medical research a
critical part of the 'knowledge economy' and create a National
Institute for Health Research in the NHS.
"For this to be successful you will need a highly scientifically
trained and knowledgeable medical workforce.
"The pressures coming from the Department of Health to shorten
postgraduate training, take it out of the hands of the expert doctors
and discourage academic aspirations or achievement are in direct
opposition to the wishes of the Department for Trade and Industry
and the Treasury to make Britain a world leading centre in which to
undertake translational clinical research."
He said many of his colleagues believed the "devaluing of academic and
research achievements" in the new system threatened to jeopardise the
skills-base that was needed. |
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The
The
Labors in the Spirits of
Science
Living on the Lost Planet 
