Junior doctors given job-title change BMA requested

After qualifying as a doctor, Dr Huang completed two years of foundation training, two of core surgical training, three of speciality training and has three years’ training left.

Some patients were confused by the term “junior”, she says, as she is often responsible for a lot of care.

“For example if someone comes into the emergency room with a catastrophic nose bleed, I’ll be the one to operate,” Dr Huang says.

“Or on a clinic day, I will see some 20 patients and I’m often the doctor who will be asked to help if people have life-threatening problems with their airways.”

A BMA committee considered many alternative terms before deciding “resident” was the most appropriate.

The term, already used in the US, Canada, Philippines, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Australia, reflects the role of medics “on the ground, keeping hospitals ticking” that is often highly experienced and “anything but junior”, it says.