The future hospital: a rewarding place to train and work? A perspective from the shop floor

The provision of medical care for the next 40 years lies in the hands of the trainees of today. In order to deliver the care our patients deserve in the way in which they wish to receive it, this future workforce needs to be trained appropriately and to be supported and encouraged to develop into the doctors needed to fulfil this mission. This personal view authored by a trainee of today discusses some of the likely demands placed upon the physician of tomorrow, placed in the context of the Shape of Training report commissioned by the GMC, and the report of the Future Hospital Commission of the Royal College of Physicians, to which the author contributed. To achieve the visions set out in those reviews and maximal satisfaction for the patients served the enthusiasm, experience and innovation of trainees will be of fundamental importance.