ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to provide one with resources that will increase satisfaction and creativity during his/her Foundation education and training and can provide a safety net should things slip in any way. It also aims to articulate clearly the structural problems that can create stress in medicine, but to also offer practical advice on how to deal with the day-to-day problems of welfare, self-care and developing resilience. The book concerns the welfare of both young doctors and medical students in their final years about to enter the world of work. A North American review of the literature studying the psychological health of residents, the equivalent to UK Foundation doctors, showed an alarming prevalence rate of distress and burnout in around a third of early career doctors.
