Less than full-time training (LTFT) is an option for all post-graduate doctors who want to work less than 40 hours a week (Health Education England, n.d). The two most common LTFT percentages are 60% (24 hours per week) and 80% (32 hours per week) (Health Education England, n.d). Examples of reasons for why an individual may want to undertake LTFT include disability or ill health, caring responsibilities, welfare or wellbeing reasons, unique opportunities, religious commitment, and non-medical development (Health Education England, 2023). The minimum LTFT that a doctor can have is 50% (20 hours per week).
Therefore, LTFT offers a flexible alternative to pursuing medicine that may not have been possible for doctors before. It can help many have a better work-life balance whilst still engaging with their training programme or being involved with other endeavours or responsibilities. It also helps to make medical practice more equitable and accessible for those with caring responsibilities, health problems or disabilities.
It has been documented that LTFT can have a positive impact on those who partake in it, with a longitudinal analysis by RSM UK Consulting LLP commissioned by Health Education England finding that one hundred percent of those surveyed agreed that LTFT has increased their sense of wellbeing and work-life balance (Health Education England, 2022). However, one drawback of LTFT on service provision of the NHS as a whole is the sentiment from sixty-one percent of educators that LTFT has decreased service provision within the NHS. While this may be true, it could be argued that in the long run, LTFT allows many doctors to continue practising medicine when that may have left the career altogether if LTFT wasn’t an option.
For doctors, one negative of LTFT is that training will inevitably take longer than it would do if you were to train at full-time. This can mean being out of sync with your colleagues and having a lower take-home pay if you do not undertake any other employment with the time that you do not spend working at a doctor. However, these negatives may be outweighed by the benefits of being able to take time away from medicine or pursue other interests.
Overall, LTFT is becoming a more attractive option for many doctors as portfolio careers grow and pressures on the NHS increase. Anecdotally, many medical students are already considering LTFT in their future practice as doctors due to the flexibility it presents. What about you? Are you considered less than full time training?
References:
Health Education England (n.d) ‘Less Than Full-Time Training’, NHS England, available at: https://madeinheene.hee.nhs.uk/general_practice/Postgraduate-doctors-in-training/Less-Than-Full-Time-Working#:~:text=Less%20than%20full%20time%20training,as%2060%25%20or%2080%25. (Accessed 06 January 2024).
Health Education England (2022) ‘Delivering Greater Flexibility’, NHS England, available at: https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/doctors-training/delivering-greater-flexibility#:~:text=Impact%20of%20the%20LTFT%20Category,increased%20their%20sense%20of%20wellbeing (Accessed 06 January 2024)
Health Education England (2023) ‘Less Than Full Time Training Policy’, NHS England, available at: https://heeoe.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/eoe_ltft_policy_jan_23_v5_final.pdf (Accessed 06 January 2024).
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