Flexible working and training for doctors and dentists

Edited by:
  • A. Hastie
(Ed) UK: Radcliffe price £24.95, pp 224 ISBN 1846190258 | ISBN: 1-846-19025-8

The aim of this book is to explain the regulations relating to part-time and flexible training for doctors and dentists in the UK. Several authors have contributed to the text, and the result is a comprehensive guide to current practice. The information given is up to date and well researched within its context, but the book relates mainly to the training requirements for medical doctors, and females at that. Many references are made to the shortcomings of the current system of training as it relates to women wishing to take time out for family reasons, but the authors do not give a similar emphasis to problems of training for male students.

For the dentist, there is one main chapter pertaining to the regulations for vocational training, and brief references to dentistry in others, however the bulk of the book describes in detail the rules for flexible medical training, either in primary, secondary or academic disciplines. The authors of chapters which give information aimed at both doctors and dentists show limited knowledge of regulations for general dental practice, and those describing academic and hospital based careers tend to refer to dental training in broad terms only.

The later chapters do provide information on pensions, maternity leave and work overseas and there is helpful information on disability, but the dentist wishing to use the book to research a training pathway would need to read through the majority of the text before finding relevant details, and may be left with many unanswered questions.