Junior doctors rebrand themselves as ‘residents’ instead of ‘demeaning’ job title
Junior doctors have rebranded themselves as “residents” in a departure from the “demeaning” job title.
The British Medical Association (BMA) negotiated the new job title alongside a 22 per cent pay rise with the Government.
The doctors’ union had voted to implement it internally last year, but sought the Government’s agreement as part of its pay dispute.
It will begin using the term “resident” doctors from today, claiming that the “junior” title was “misleading”.
Junior doctors voted 66 per cent in favour of a deal to end strikes on Monday, which will see the profession take home an extra 22.3 per cent on average over two years.
The BMA said the use of the term “resident doctor” would better align the UK with international counterparts in the US, Canada, Australia and Spain.
Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA’s now rebranded resident doctors committee, said: “There was never anything ‘junior’ about the work we do. The title ‘junior doctor’ misled patients into thinking that they were being looked after by underqualified or apprentice doctors.
“In fact we are expert clinicians who are responsible for a huge bulk of the medical care given to patients across the NHS every day,” they said.
They said the new title “better reflects their expertise and how crucial they are to the functioning of the health service” and was “a simple and straightforward way of marking a new era where resident doctors no longer accept less than they are worth”.
The name change comes as the union leaders called the pay deal a “compromise” and “the first step towards our goal” to have full pay restoration.
Parts of the BMA’s membership have been angered by the union’s failure to secure a long-term commitment to the initial demand of a 35 per cent pay rise.
Dr Trivedi told BBC Radio 4 that if the Government “does not continue our journey to full pay restoration... then the Government will find doctors back in dispute”.
Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, said: “I am pleased that our offer has been accepted, ending the strikes ahead of looming winter pressures on the NHS. This marks the necessary first step in our mission to cut waiting lists, reform the broken health service, and make it fit for the future.”