The Feature · Working abroad
The quiet arithmetic of leaving
Three young doctors weighed the UK, Germany and staying home. What they counted, what they missed, and what no spreadsheet could tell them.
Featured
Case History · Beyond clinical
The anaesthetist who now designs hospital software
A profile in preparation: a clinician who moved from the operating theatre into software, and what she kept from medicine.
The Ledger · Foundations
Your first stipend, allocated: a one-page plan for residents
Rent, family, the loan and something that is only yours. A framework to adapt, not a formula to obey.
Second Opinion · Postgraduate training
Should you take a drop year for NEET PG?
- Yes
- A doctor who took the year
- No
- A doctor who took the seat
Two doctors who made opposite choices argue it out. Our editor sets out what the evidence can and cannot tell you.
Latest
Explainer · AI in medicine
AI scribes are arriving in clinics. Five questions to ask before you use one
Time and energy
Protecting one evening a week during residency
Explainer · Tax
Stipend, salary or consulting fee: how each is taxed, in plain words
Field Notes · Practice and clinics
The first two years of a solo clinic, month by month
Choosing a specialty
Radiology after the hype: what the work is really like now
Taste
The books doctors keep recommending to each other
Career
Choosing the shape of your working life.
The Feature · Choosing a specialty
Choosing a specialty with your eyes open
Rank decides less than you think. Temperament, hours, the shape of a working day and the life around it decide more.
Beyond clinical
What a medical affairs role actually involves
The work, the hours, the trade-offs, and how doctors move into it.
Explainer · Postgraduate training
Service bonds, explained: what they ask of you and what leaving costs
Rules differ by state and change often. How to read yours before you sign.
Working life
How to read a job offer from a private hospital
Fixed pay, variable pay, on-call and the clauses worth a second look.
Money
Making money a solved problem, not a constant one.
Essay · Investing
The case for boring money
Index funds, term insurance and an emergency fund will never make a good story at dinner. That is rather the point: the dull decisions are the ones that buy you choices later.
The Ledger · Debt and loans
Education loans after MBBS: repay early, or invest the difference?
Explainer · Protection
Term insurance before you need it, without the sales pitch
Foundations
Helping your family without derailing your own plans
Money pieces are general education, not personal financial advice. We never recommend specific investments. How we work
Life
The life the work is for.
Relationships
Long distance during residency
Two cities, two rotas and one shared calendar. Couples on what kept them close, and what nearly did not.
Explainer · Health
Sleep after nights: what the evidence supports, and what it does not
Essay · Time and energy
The case for a hobby you are bad at
Business
Building something of your own.
The Feature · Practice and clinics
Should a doctor start a clinic in 2027?
Rent, staff, software and patience. A sober look at the economics before you sign a lease.
Startups and healthtech
What doctors bring to a healthtech startup, and what they have to unlearn
Independent work
Teaching, writing, consulting: earning from expertise, ethically
Technology
What technology means for doctors, past the hype and the dread.
The Feature · AI in medicine
What AI changes for the next generation of doctors, and what it does not
Less typing, more checking, and a new kind of judgement. A careful look past both the hype and the dread.
Explainer · Research literacy
How to read an AI study before it reaches your hospital
Tools and workflow
A resident’s toolkit: notes, references and the apps worth keeping
Essay · Digital health
Your patients’ data, someone else’s model: consent in the age of AI
Doctor stories
Doctors who have built interesting lives, in their own words.
In preparation
The surgeon who became a product manager
Presenting question: is it a waste to leave the operating theatre?
In preparation
From Kolkata to Leeds, and back again
Presenting question: why do so many doctors who leave eventually come home?
In preparation
A GP who works four days a week, on purpose
Presenting question: can a doctor choose less and still build a career?
The Guide
Choosing a specialty
Our maintained reference for one of the biggest decisions in medicine. Start with the life you want, then work back to the branch that fits it.
In preparation8 chapters plannedThe Editors
Read the guide Explore the Career Atlas
Contents
- Start with the life, not the rank
- What the work is like, day to day
- Training routes in India
- Hours, nights and on-call
- Money over a whole career
- Options abroad
- Who thrives where
- Making the decision, and changing it
Tools
Apply it to your own numbers. Assumptions always visible.
Tool · Career
Postgraduate training cost calculator
The whole path priced honestly, preparation years included, against what it changes.
Open the tool
Tool · Money
Loan repayment calculator
Repayment scenarios in your own numbers, without a lender’s sales pitch.
Open the tool
Tool · Money
The Doctor Wealth Calculator
Wealth measured in freedom: months and years of your essential costs covered.
Open the tool
Rich is counted in more than one currency.
The Handover
One considered letter, every Sunday morning.
A short essay from the editor, a few links worth a doctor’s time, one number with its context, and a question for you to answer. Five minutes, before the week begins.