Medicine Is Broken — But I’m Still In

I get it — the system is broken. Doctors are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. The NHS faces consistent shortages across all healthcare roles, and many are leaving the workforce in search of something else. When they do, it only increases the pressure on those who stay. The cycle feeds itself, and it’s hard to see a way out.

There’s no real sign of things changing. Funding remains below what’s needed. Demand for care keeps rising. And if you’re about to tell me the government’s got a plan, please don’t — the NHS will always be a political bargaining chip. That’s the unfortunate truth. And while all of this affects doctors, the ripple effect touches everyone: longer wait times, growing backlogs, and a system that feels stretched to its limits.

But even with all of that, I still enjoy the journey of becoming a doctor. In fact, I still can’t quite believe that in a year’s time, I’ll actually be one.

The time I’ve spent in hospitals has shown me that doctors — though all under the same pressures — seem to fall into distinct groups. Every one of them knows how hard it is. Every one of them has felt the toll it takes on their personal lives. But that’s where the similarities stop.

There are those who still find meaning in what they do. They’re honest with students — they won’t sugar-coat it — but they’re also deeply committed to their work. They speak of medicine as a lifelong challenge, a privilege, and a profession that pushes you to grow. They recognise what’s broken, but they haven’t let it break them.

And then there’s the second group. The ones who drain your energy the moment you start speaking. “Get out of medicine,” they say. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.” They speak with such certainty, as if no one could possibly want to stay. They’ll tell you the job isn’t worth it, and some even take pride in convincing students to leave.

And I just don’t get it. If medicine is that bad, and if people with medical backgrounds are in demand elsewhere — why stay? Why keep chasing training posts and jumping through hoops for a speciality you supposedly don’t even believe in?

As medical students, we’ve spent years working towards this career. We’ve seen the cracks, we’ve heard the frustrations, and we know what’s waiting for us — and yet, we’re still here. Willing to try.

We don’t need illusions. We don’t need sugar-coating. But is it really helpful to crush someone’s hope before they’ve even had a chance to stand on the wards as a doctor?

I’m not saying don’t speak your truth. We need to hear from doctors who are struggling — it’s how we prepare. But are we really doing anyone a favour by relentlessly creating junior doctors who have already given up before they’ve even begun? Doctors who believe there’s no point challenging the system because “that’s just how it is”?

Call me naive, but I’m excited to work. I’m proud of what I’ve put in over the last few years. I want to apply for specialties. I want to explore what medicine can offer me. And the constant beating down of this profession — from the inside — won’t stop me from trying.

We absolutely need to talk about what’s wrong with the system. We need medical professionals to speak up. But we don’t need to use our own disillusionment to make students doubt their own reasons for choosing this path.

Don’t hide the facts. But also — don’t stand there, still chasing bottlenecks, still doing the work, and tell us it’s not worth even trying. Because if you’re still here, doing it… something must be keeping you too.