I worked in 5 different hospitals in my Foundation years and I know exactly what you mean. I also found it sad that however much I liked my colleagues from all the different health professions that interacted on the wards (nurses, doctors, pharmacists, dieticians etc), I knew I wouldn't ever see them again... Now that I'm in ST training at least we tend to have a year in each hospital, but I still find it bizarre that most specialties structure their training programmes so that one year's placement could be 1.5 hours travel distance from the next year's placement, which could be another hour in a different direction from your third year placement, and so on. I understand that it is educationally important to experience the specialty in different size hospitals serving different populations, but to be honest I find it just as important (if not more so) not to have to commute for 2 hours+ a day, or move house every year with a young family. The decision to buy a house, and stay in one place for childcare reasons, automatically creates a decision to commute for at least 2 hours a day for about 5 of the next 8 years. Adding a 2 hour commute to 13 hour shifts (and the dream of 8 hours sleep!) leaves 1 hour left in the day to have breakfast and dinner, catch up with life and be with my family. However much I love my job, I can't be a well-adjusted, happy or normal person on those days, and 13 hour shifts make up a third of my rota. When I have mentioned this to people in the medical education hierarchy they have questioned my commitment to medicine... To be a good doctor, I need to stay sane and spend time with my family rather than in cars, trains, buses and on bicycles! I don't think it's unreasonable for that to be taken into account when creating deaneries and deciding how trainees are allocated placements... Bit off topic but that's where my thoughts went. Thanks for sharing :)