Trainee doctors ‘poorly prepared’ for work

Trainee doctors are poorly prepared for work, the results of a survey have shown.

A survey was carried out among 228 senior doctors at two major teaching hospitals in the East Midlands that enquired about their critical assessment of a wide range of core skills and competencies.

The results, which were published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal, found that many senior doctors believe newly-qualified medical graduates are not ready for work.

Reflecting a high degree of agreement, responses showed that “senior doctors felt the fledgling juniors were inadequately prepared to start work as a doctor”.

Carrying out basic respiratory function tests, prescribing, and more advanced communication skills were some of the areas where juniors performed below par, according to the survey.

However, the trainees did perform well on basic communication skills and how to ask for help. The authors of today’s research said perhaps this demonstrates that medical schools have “gone too far in emphasising risk management and, perhaps inadvertently, helplessness”.

“The findings give cause for concern,” they stated.

Among other things, they call for more opportunities for ward-based experiential learning and for senior doctors to be more explicit about what is expected of trainees.