EJD - European Junior Doctors Association

16/06/2026

🎉 Half a century ago, junior doctors decided not just to work within Europe's health systems, but to help shape them. In 2026, the European Junior Doctors Association marks 50 years of doing exactly that.

To mark the milestone, Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat of - once a junior doctor in Malta herself - - sent us a message we'll carry forward: "the challenges are complex, but your professionalism is outstanding." 🩺

From the EJD-WHO Academy in Copenhagen to a survey of 100,000+ voices on the wellbeing of the health workforce, this partnership keeps growing.

As we look to our 2026-2031 strategy, the next fifty years are ours to shape - together. 💙

Thank you, WHO/Europe colleagues.

🔗 Full message at the link in our bio.

21/05/2026

Today, during European Public Health Week, EJD President .c.dc spoke at the webinar on the MeND report, organised by and

Our message was clear: junior doctors are the most vulnerable group - and the data confirms it.

The MeND report reveals alarming levels of anxiety, depression, and burnout among health workers across Europe, with junior doctors consistently showing the worst outcomes. The REST-JD survey adds to this picture: junior doctors work an average of 57 hours per week, far exceeding the 48-hour limit set by the European Working Time Directive. And the link between excessive working hours and deteriorating mental health is no longer a hypothesis.

But it is not just about hours. Precarious employment, widespread temporary contracts, and inadequate return-to-work policies all contribute to a system that makes health workers ill - and then fails to protect them when they come back.

We hope this work continues. Surveys like MeND and REST-JD are essential to understanding the scale of the problem and shaping targeted policy responses at European, national, and institutional level.

We also want to recognise what MeND represents: an example of meaningful collaboration between international institutions and civil society organisations working together for the health workforce. This is how change happens.

If working conditions do not change, we risk losing the people who hold our health systems together. Their motivation is strong - but it is not infinite.

21/05/2026

EJD was pleased to participate in the German Medical Assembly of the this week.
Our delegation joined the Young Physicians Forum, where discussions focused on the realities of junior doctors, the importance of medical self-governance, and ways to strengthen young physician participation within professional structures.
We also attended the official opening of the Assembly and had the opportunity to exchange perspectives with colleagues from international organisations, including representatives of the World Medical Association.
We wish all participants a productive and successful week of debate and collaboration.

21/05/2026

🔸 EJD at the UEMS Spring Council in Tunis 🔸

Last month, we had the privilege of representing EJD at the UEMS Spring Council Meeting in Tunis. It was a powerful reminder of the breadth of work UEMS delivers - from European Training Requirements across dozens of specialties to advancing the agenda on medical ethics, the future of specialist practice and much more.

Our VP joined a panel discussion with fellow European Medical Organisations on a question that matters to all partners: how can EMOs promote their work and strengthen their influence at European and international level?

EJD's answer was practical: produce pan-European evidence that institutions can use, show up consistently where policy is shaped, invest in the often invisible infrastructure and partner strategically so that all sides come out stronger.

From our REST-JD data reaching European institutions, to co-hosting the EJD-WHO Academy in Copenhagen - this has been our approach, and it works. None of it happens without the collaborative ecosystem that organisations like UEMS help sustain. ✨

In just a few days, UEMS will open the doors to its historic 1st Congress in Leuven (27–30 May) - four days of learning, networking, and shaping the future of specialist medicine in Europe.

We wish the entire UEMS community a truly successful Congress!

18/05/2026

Proud to share that the EJD contributed to the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health's Call to Action - now published by

This is a comprehensive framework spanning health system transformation, workforce education, climate-resilient infrastructure, mental health integration, and economic reform - all tracked through a detailed progress measures dashboard.

Why does this matter for junior doctors?

Because we are the health workforce inheriting the consequences of climate inaction - and the ones expected to deliver care through heatwaves, air pollution crises, and climate-driven disease shifts, often in under-resourced systems already stretched beyond capacity.
The Call to Action recognises that climate resilience and sustainability competencies must be embedded into health professional education and accreditation, that mental health and psychosocial support must be integrated into climate–health preparedness, and that health systems need to be fundamentally transformed to protect both people and planet.

If it affects health systems, it affects junior doctors.

17/05/2026

17/05/2026

03/05/2026

Fifty years of advocacy. Four presidents in one room.

At EJD's 50th Anniversary General Assembly in Bad Nauheim, Vice-President moderated a conversation across generations of leadership - bringing together three former EJD Presidents: Bernardo Bollen Pinto, , and Mathias Körner. What has genuinely changed for junior doctors over the past fifty years? What hasn't? And what did each presidency teach them?

Current President .c.dc joined in for some challenging questions from former presidents and the session closed with advice to the next generation of EJD leaders.

One final question on gender equality in medical leadership was put to the two women on stage. Fifty years in, that question still needed asking.

03/05/2026

One of the most powerful sessions at our 50th Anniversary Meeting was "EJD Through Time: Defining Moments and National Impact", moderated by our Administration Officer .roigas

EJD Honorary member Alex van Bolderen opened the session with a reminder that the challenges junior doctors face today are not new. They have persisted over time. What matters is how we respond: together.

✨ Estonia showed how EJD gave them a platform to share the Praxis study on PGT compliance with WFME standards - leading to concrete reforms: minimum training standards, part-time residency programmes, mentorship systems, stronger supervision.
✨ Delegates from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia highlighted how cross-border collaboration strengthened their organizations and preparedness for wartime and crises - a topic more urgent than ever.
✨ Croatia, Romania, Slovenia outlined how they secured EJD support statements on pressing national issues. Croatia a striking victory: after decades of so-called "slave contracts", the Croatian Healthcare Act was amended. EJD played a key role - demonstrating that such restrictive contracts existed nowhere else in Europe, giving Croatian advocates the evidence and the platform they needed.
✨ Slovenia described how, during a 2024 crisis over healthcare legislation that endangered patients and restricted doctors' right to strike, EJD's unanimous statement of support helped raise public awareness and strengthen their position - all the way to parliamentary representation.
✨ Malta and Portugal demonstrated how Europe-wide REST-JD study helped them address challenges specific to their own systems - proof that cross-border data translates into local action.
✨ Denmark, Finland, and Norway brought an important message: collaboration is never one-directional. The experiences shared by colleagues across Europe have directly inspired policy action and advocacy at the national level. Solidarity flows both ways.

50 years. Countless victories. One clear message: when junior doctors unite across borders, real change happens.

Thank you all for such a meaningful session, and to every delegate who shared their story.

03/05/2026

🔸 Reflections from the EJD Spring General Assembly 2026 in Bad Nauheim🔸

🔹 During our National Interim Reports session this cycle, the tone has shifted. Where before we described the pressures facing junior doctors across Europe, this Spring Meeting showed how much member organisations are now doing about them: collective agreements negotiated, court cases won, legislation drafted, national studies published. 🔹

Two discussions stayed with us.

🌟 The first was about how our organisations work - board structures, representation, recruiting and retaining active members, sustaining volunteer capacity between assemblies. It is rarely the headline issue, but it determines whether any of the headline work actually gets done.

⚠️ The second was transgressive behaviour and sexual harassment. Three member countries brought national datasets to this cycle. The signals are consistent: around one in three doctors affected, women disproportionately, reporting still low. When three large member organisations produce comparable evidence in the same period, it stops being a national issue and becomes a European one.

Our next task is to make sure European institutions and stakeholders understand this as a shared problem - and act on it without hesitation.

Grateful to every delegation that showed up, shared openly, and did the work.