And can be the difference between keeping and losing them.
I spoke to a bright, highly competent New Zealand Emergency Department doctor yesterday. He was UK trained but had gone to New Zealand 4 years ago and had found the experience of being a doctor there unbelievably better than in the NHS.
So, what was the difference? Was it the money? Well yes, a bit. Early on the pay is better than the equivalent in the UK but it is pretty much on a par later on. The cost of living is better for non-imported items too but things from abroad are pricey.
But the startling difference was in how he was treated by the organisation.
In the UK he had finished a rotation and made the mistake of not contacting his trust to book further work until the day after his contract finished. Because of this offence he was told he had to get references from his previous 5 bosses to prove his eligibility. Even with the support of the department he wanted to work in, he was treated like dirt, and it took months before he could work.
In New Zealand his department were able to arrange his next post ahead of time, entered him for his exams and told him to get on and start revising so he could sit them when he joined them. They wanted him to know they cared about his progress and they wanted him to develop and stay with them.
In the UK there was no time to get food while working and even when he managed to snatch a sandwich from the shop, he was ordered not to eat it while doing paperwork on the ward in a non clinical area.
In New Zealand the doctors get cooked meals and protected breaks to eat them. If their shifts span two mealtimes, they get two breaks. They are viewed as valuable members of the team, and they are looked after to keep them functioning well.
In the UK it was up to him to negotiate to make sure he got the leave he was entitled to. If there was a problem, it was always the employee who had to accommodate the system and no allowance was made unless statutory rules forced the management to comply.
In New Zealand his manager felt it was part of her job to find out what leave doctors wanted and do her best to achieve it. If a doctor wanted leave for something important like their wedding, then the manager would negotiate with other doctors who wanted leave at that time to make sure the request could be accommodated. It wasn’t possible to honour all requests but she even had the authority to use the odd locum if really necessary.
And when his manager learned he was holidaying in the UK she moved his nights to immediately after he gets back because he will be on UK time so they will be easier for him (and he will probably perform better because he won’t be as tired).
None of these are expensive. All they need is for someone to actually think how it feels from the doctor’s point of view.
And it works: 85% of the new doctors he works with have come from the UK.