Female psychiatrists' career development after flexible training

Abstract

Aims and Method. The project gathered data from a cohort of 300 flexibly trained female consultants in psychiatry in order to understand how their careers had progressed since the completion of their training. A postal questionnaire was used to gather this information. Results. These consultants were generally satisfied with their training, and were succeeding in pursuing their careers. Flexible training was developed to enable people with family commitments to train in psychiatry, and this is what it is being used for. Clinical implications. Flexible training is an important avenue for an increasing number of psychiatrists to continue in their profession. With the current shortfall in consultant numbers, flexible training should be maintained and developed, and should be seen as a useful route to a consultant position.