Tuesday, 10 November 2009

Graduates Poorly Prepared to be doctors


A new study has criticised the training of junior doctors. The Telegraph presents an interesting summary.

"A study by Catherine and David Matheson of the University of Nottingham's Medical Education Unit said junior doctors were not prepared in eight of 11 topic areas.

Interview with specialist registrars and consultants said new medics were especially unprepared in "clinical and practical skills and the more challenging communication skills".

The research was published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal.

The conclusions are as follows "Overall, F1s in the study were not well prepared either to perform the tasks that await them or in terms of most of the specific background knowledge and skills necessary for the successful execution of those tasks. The level of preparedness raises important issues about medical training and transition from medical graduate to first year doctor. Further research is needed to determine whether this situation exists in other regions of the UK."

This raises further future questions about appraisals, the rate of referrals to the General Medical Council and revalidation. How many doctors are going to have their license revoked in the future. This raises further questions about the effectiveness of Modernising Medical Careers [MMC] Clearly, the microscope should be placed on this training system. Remedy UK has long argued that the MMC has placed patients at risk. They now appear to be right. The architects of the MMC are directly responsible for creating a system that is clearly failing doctors and patients.

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3 comments:

blackdog said...

This is the s******e in which my wife was incarcerated last year for trauma surgery. Only ever saw one doctor on the Ward and he was an F1. Think he was lost!
Most of the time seemed to have been spent chatting up the Nurses at the desk; at least you knew where to find them! Not that they did anything even when a problem arose. Remote medicine seemed to be in order; nothing hands on. Even when BP slumped to danger levels nothing was done. These so called teaching hospitals are a danger to health, not providers of care!

Anonymous said...

What do you expect when the GMC stops experienced doctors from working ,ofen for minor reasons? While managers treat consultants like youth training students ,the GMC treats doctors like sex fiends.Over regulation and draconian measures have stifled and demoralised the profession.The whole system is rotten to the core. When the system fails to value highly trained and experienced doctors , the NHS is left with juniors to run the show. In the end, we get the doctors we deserve.

Anonymous said...

No contextual knowledge at all.

More grist for the GMC mill - poor health care for the rest of us.

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