GMC National Training Survey 2025
Today (15 July), the General Medical Council (GMC) has published the results of its 2025 National Training Survey.
This is the UK’s largest annual insight into medical training, which surveyed over 71,000 doctors and trainers.
For the first time, it asked about escalation of care – a critical safety issue. While 79 per cent of trainees reported never feeling apprehensive, 21 per cent said they had hesitated at least once in the last 12 months.
Key findings from this year's survey include:
- 87 per cent of doctors in training rate their clinical supervision highly.
- 90 per cent of trainers said they enjoy their role. However, only 52 per cent can always use their allocated time for training specifically for that purpose
- 26 per cent of trainees and 29 per cent of trainers also said training was adversely affected because rota gaps weren’t dealt with appropriately
- 61 per cent of trainees and 47 per cent of trainers are measured to be at moderate or high risk of burnout.
- 21 per cent of doctors in training reported feeling apprehensive or hesitant about escalating a patient to a supervising clinician. This rose to 26 per cent for trainees in emergency medicine and medicine, 27 per cent in obstetrics and gynaecology, and 29 per cent in surgery.
- Of those that completed the optional questions on discriminatory behaviours, 39 per cent of gay and 45 per cent of bisexual trainees reported hearing discriminatory comments, compared to 24 per cent of heterosexual trainees. In addition, 17 per cent of female trainees reported being ignored or excluded, compared to 13 per cent of male trainees.
- 34 per cent of UK graduates from an ethnic minority background report experiencing behaviours like micro-aggressions from colleagues, compared to 25 per cent of their white colleagues.
Professor Pushpinder Mangat, Medical Director and Director of Education and Standards at the GMC, said:
‘These findings are extremely concerning because doctors need to work in environments where they feel comfortable escalating. When they don’t, there are potentially serious risks to patient safety. ‘The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan rightly recognises that a modern health service must empower its workforce and foster a culture of openness and safety.
The GMC is committed to supporting this transformation and playing our part. The national training survey is one of several vital data resources we produce to help to identify where change is needed, and ensure that training environments are safe, inclusive, and fit for the future.’
Read the full 2025 National Training Survey report.
