For Locums
FINDING LOCUM WORK
Overview
See how we help find you your perfect locum
How Messly works
A step-by-step guide to using Messly
Browse Jobs
See what locum jobs are available
Resources for locum doctors
The Locum Hub
POPULAR
Our top resources for finding locum work
Compare Locum Agencies
See ratings and testimonials of locum agencies
Locum Salary Calculator
POPULAR
See how much you can earn as a locum
Locum Rates Breakdown
Learn how much you can earn as a locum doctor
The Locum Academy
NEW
Rapid answers to common locum questions
The Locum Toolkit
Useful resources, services and tools for locums
Need help?
Contact Us
For F3s
For f3 doctors
F3 Hub
All our best F3 resources in one place
F3 Options
Learn about your best options for F3
How To Write The Perfect F3 CV
Our top tips for CV writing for F3s
The F3 Workbook
Our workbook to help you plan your F3
Guide To Australia
Read our Down Under guide
For Trainees
For trainees
Training Navigator
Discover the best-ranked FP rotations
Foundation Training Guides
All our guides and breakdowns for FT
Blog
Hiring Doctors
HIRING DOCTORS
For Locum Agencies
Get active locum doctors on-demand
For Healthcare Organisations
Great doctors for your business
Speak to our team
Contact Us
More
MORE
Portfolio Companion
NEW
How to structure and build your portfolio
About Us
Learn about the team behind Messly
Contact Us
Get in touch with our team
Login
Register
Login
Register
December 2022
November 2, 2018

Which Specialty makes the happiest doctors?

In this article, we explore which specialties are rated highest for overall satisfaction and workload. This is based on ratings given by doctors across the country for all specialties at Core and Specialty levels in the GMC 2018 Survey. It is important to note that this is a trainee survey only – no opinions or ratings by Consultants are taken into account.

We hope that this snapshot will provide an interesting and thought-provoking overview to kickstart your research.

Here are the results of our number crunching for the 2018 data on which Specialty makes the happiest doctors:

Which Specialties make the happiest doctors?
Graph showing Overall Satisfaction against Workload for the following specialties: General Practice, Histopathology, Clinical Radiology, Anaesthetics, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Neonatal Medicine, Intensive Care Medicine, Urology, Rheumatology, General Psychiatry, Clinical Oncology, Plastic Surgery, Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, ENT, Endocrinology and Diabetes Mellitus, Paediatrics, Haematology, General Surgery, Renal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Respiratory Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Neurology, Medical Oncology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Geriatric Medicine, Cardiology, General (Internal) Medicine, Acute Internal Medicine. They are listed in order of decreasing Overall Satisfaction.

‍

Key Takeaways

1. General Practice stands out for satisfaction

It may come as no surprise that General Practice leads the way for the most satisfied doctors in the UK. They rate their workload as one of the most manageable, although there is significant regional and practice variation in this. These findings echo a trend that has remained true over the last few years.

Read our interview with Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard, the current Chair of RCGP, about her top tips for junior doctors considering the field and how she expects training to change in the coming years.

More so than in most specialties, GPs have a huge breadth of choice in what they choose to do in their – have a read of our interviews with a GP trainee, Portfolio GP, and academic GP to find out more.

‍

2. Radiology, Pathology and Anaesthetics are the best hospital specialities

These top three specialties are closely followed by Dermatology and Ophthalmology. Many doctors will have heard of the ROAD acronym that lists the professions associated with a better work/life balance. Our data supports this view with some of the best workload and satisfaction ratings for these specialties.

At the other end of the spectrum the Medical specialties feature heavily, with General Medicine, Cardiology and Geriatrics having the worst satisfaction and workload ratings across the board. Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Oncology and Emergency Medicine are close behind.

We’ve interviewed a huge range of specialty doctors about their working lives, from Anaesthetic Registrars and Radiology Trainees to Geriatric Consultants – head over to our My Life as a Doctor collection to read further insights into the different specialties.

3. There is a very close correlation with the workload and overall satisfaction

It’s clear from our analysis that doctors who are most satisfied with their specialities tend to be the ones with the most manageable workload. This suggests that picking specialities with a better work-life balance is wise.

Tagged:
No items found.

Find locum work on your terms

The best locum agencies together in one place, competing to find you the best locum shifts. Managed for free through your Messly account.

GET STARTED
Messly
view All Posts
SIMILAR Posts
Applications
Your Guide to GP Training Applications in 2023
Applications
Swap Policies for UK Foundation Schools 2019
Applications
Building a Portfolio for Psychiatry ST4 Applications
Applications
Internal Medicine Training from 2019
POSTS BY TaGS
AHPRA
Australia
Doctor
ED
F3
Featured
Foundation Training
ICU
Lifestyle
Locum
MCNZ
Medical Training
New Zealand
Podcast
Trainee Doctor
Year Abroad
Subscribe
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
More Posts

You Might Also Like

Applications
Your Guide to GP Training Applications in 2023
Apr 17, 2023
 by 
Chris Kurwie
Applications
Swap Policies for UK Foundation Schools 2019
Apr 5, 2019
 by 
Messly
Applications
Building a Portfolio for Psychiatry ST4 Applications
Apr 3, 2019
 by 
Messly
Applications
Internal Medicine Training from 2019
Mar 7, 2019
 by 
Messly
Applications
How to prepare for your Core Surgical Interview
Dec 18, 2018
 by 
Messly
Applications
GP Training - Where should you apply?
Nov 13, 2018
 by 
Messly

126 New Kings Road
London
SW6 4LZ
‍
T: 020 4525 5373
E: 
support@messly.co.uk

For Locums
OverviewKey FeaturesThe Locum HubThe Locum AcademyLocum Salary CalculatorCompare AgenciesThe Locum ToolkitChangelog
For Trainees
Training NavigatorFoundation Guides
For F3s
The F3 HubYour F3 OptionsWrite The Perfect CVThe F3 WorkbookChangelog
Hiring Doctors
For AgenciesFor Organisations
More
LoginThe Messly BlogThe Journal ClubAbout UsContact UsTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyChangelog
Get The App:
© 2022 Berdroot Developments Limited
Made with ❤️ in London