The Royal - medical careers in the 60s
ITV's The Royal is a television drama about a small hospital in the 60s in the fictional seaside town of Elsinby (in reality Scarborough in North Yorkshire). So what was it like to work as a doctor or nurse in the 60s? This advice is adapted from a careers' guide from the 60s.
Doctor
In the 60s a career in medicine was open to men and women, as the The Royal shows. Jill Weatherill is particularly proud of the effort she put in to become Dr Weatherill and does not change her name when she marries Dr Ormerod. This suggests that it might have been a tougher career path for women, which is probably right.
In the sixties, hospital doctors could earn from £700 up to £4,500 for a consultant. In today's money the salaries would be equivalent to £9,730 to £62,500. This comparison shows that incomes have risen faster than prices, but also that Mr Rose would be substantially better off than Dr Goodwin or Dr Makori. GPs could earn up to £3,500 (equivalent to £48,500 in today's money). Most doctors would have earned enough to get an American Express card in the 60s. (see Pounds, Shillings and Plastic.)
In the 60s, just as today, training to be a doctor was a lengthy process. The applicant needed A-levels in chemistry, physics and biology. Then he or she had to get a place at medical school and do at least five years' full-time study; then one year as a "house-surgeon" in a hospital.
Doctors needed patience, calmness, an interest in people, integrity and the capacity for hard work. In the sixties, the work of a GP could be arduous. There was less provision for out-of-hours cover and a new GP could find himself or herself on call twenty-four hours per day. It was no surprise that many young doctors preferred to start their careers working for public bodies or in large commercial organisations.
A slang term for a doctor that stayed working at a hospital after completing training in the 60s was a "Hospital Bum".
Nursing
Nursing in the 60s was mainly a female profession, although increasingly men were training as nurses. The Royal has no male nurses - perhaps this is an omission.
In the 60s, there were two nursing qualifications: State Registered Nurse (SRN), or State Enrolled Nurse (SEN). The SEN course required less study and SENs were consequently not paid as well as SRNs.
Training to become a nurse lasted three to four years and was normally residential. The Royal gets it right with the junior nurses living on site in the nursing home under the supervision of 'Matron'.
A staff nurse in the sixties earned £700 to £800 (equivalent to £9,730 to £11,120 in today's money).