After appropriate counselling such patients under my care are generally transferred to one of my colleagues for their abortion. Ethical problems arise in infertility treatment and in particular, assisted conception. The chief problem area concerns the status of the human embryo. Certain contraceptive methods are known to work in an abortifacient manner. Trainees are now given a number and normally are assured of more structured progress through the next five years.
Training requires maximum emotional and physical commitment.
Although increasingly junior doctors now live out, the nights on-call are definitely in residence with immediate access to bleep and phone. Rotas of 1 in 2 and 1 in 3 were commonplace but it is now more likely to be 1 in 4 or 5. Shift systems, either full or partial, operate in larger units. Applications for a consultant post may now proceed. Consultant posts in community gynaecology are being developed.