Doctors' views about their first postgraduate year in UK medical practice: House officers in 2003.

Full Abstract

AIM:
To report house officers' views in 2003 of their first postgraduate year, and to compare their responses with those of house officers 2 and 3 years previously.

METHODS:
Postal questionnaires to all house officers in 2003 who graduated from UK medical schools in 2002.

RESULTS:
The response rate was 65.3% (2778/4257). The house officers of 2003 enjoyed the year more than those of 2000-1. A total of 78% of respondents in 2003 scored 7-10 in reply to the question 'How much have you enjoyed the house officer year overall?', scored from 0 (no enjoyment) to 10 (enjoyed it greatly), compared with 70% of 2000-1 house officers. They were more satisfied with leisure time available to them (51% scoring 6-10 in 2003; 35% in 2000-1). There were significant improvements in almost every aspect of doctors' experience. Hospital medical posts were rated more highly than surgical posts, and general practice posts higher still. Overall, 38% of respondents regarded their training as having been of a high standard, and 37% felt that they received constructive feedback on their performance. Differences between men and women in their views about their jobs were small.

DISCUSSION:
The house officers of 2003 reported more positively on their experiences than did those of 2000-1. Although a substantial percentage were negative about specific aspects of clinical support and training, particularly in surgical posts, almost all the responses covering training and clinical support moved in a favourable direction over time.

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Author information

Author/s: Lambert, Trevor W (TW); Goldacre, Michael J (MJ);

Affiliation: UK Medical Careers Research Group, Department of Public Health, Oxford University, Oxford, UK. trevor.lambert(-atsign-)dphpc.ox.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Medical education (Med Educ), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Nov; vol 40 (issue 11) : pp 1115-22

Dates: Created 2006/10/23; Completed 2007/03/22;

PMID: 17054621, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Humans
Job Satisfaction
Male
Medical Staff, Hospital - psychology
Men - psychology
Questionnaires
Women - psychology

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