Dr Zen's experience of life as a doctor seems much closer than 2020.* Many of her tribulations are already sapping the morale of clinicians in 2003. It is significant that Dr Zen is a woman. We continue to live in a sexist world, and as the medical workforce, particularly the general practice workforce, becomes more and more female, it is likely to become increasingly subject to exploitative working conditions. Those responsible for recruitment into medical school must ensure that all sectors of society are represented proportionately and that men and women are equally represented. It will then be important to try and ensure that women are given equal opportunities within every branch of medicine and that general practice remains equally rewarding and challenging for men and women. The working conditions within Corporation Enterprise seem unlikely to attract the brightest and best medical graduates of either sex.
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- Caversham Group Practice, London, UK.
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