The need for part-time work: a survey of doctors 10 years after graduation.

In order to quantify the need for part-time posts a postal questionnaire was sent to 396 doctors 10 years after graduation from four UK medical schools. The response rate ranged from 41% for Sheffield to 74% for Edinburgh. The findings reinforce the case for more flexibility of the career structure, in particular the establishment of more part-time posts. These should be incorporated into training grades as the maximum need for part-time work was found to occur 4 to 8 years after graduation.