The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) says the results of the National Training Survey must lead to meaningful change as it urged trainees and trainers to take part.
The General Medical Council (GMC) today (Tuesday 24 March) launched its annual survey on medical training.
The anonymous survey is the UK’s largest annual insight into postgraduate medical training, with more than 71,000 respondents last year.
National Training Survey
Dr Matt Kneale, DAUK co-chair, said: “The National Training Survey is one of the most important tools we have for understanding the pressures facing doctors in training.
“We do encourage every trainee and trainer to complete it, as responses can lead to real change.
“But year after year, the data tells the same story. Burnout is endemic, rota gaps undermine training and too many doctors do not feel safe raising concerns.
“The GMC must demonstrate that collecting this data leads to enforceable action, not just another report.”
Specialty training
Dr Kneale added: “With the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act now law and specialty training applications at record levels, the survey must evolve to capture the full reality of the training crisis, including the impact of the bottleneck on morale and career uncertainty.”
For the first time, doctors will be asked if their employer encourages a culture of shared learning and knowledge between different healthcare professionals.
The GMC said this was ‘to capture how well trainees feel supported to engage in multidisciplinary communication, which is critical for safe patient care’.
Dr Kneale said: “We note the introduction of a new question on shared learning between healthcare professionals.
Patient safety
“DAUK supports effective multidisciplinary working, but the GMC must ensure this data is not used to advance workforce substitution agendas without addressing scope of practice and patient safety.”
The survey takes around 20 minutes to complete and runs until midday on Wednesday 6 May. It includes questions on discriminatory behaviours, quality of teaching and supervision, workloads, burnout, and training opportunities.
The results will be published later this year. Find out more about the National Training Survey.
Professor Pushpinder Mangat, GMC medical director and director of education and standards, said: “The results of this survey are vital for supporting doctors and protecting patients.
Real-life action
“They translate into real-life action when it comes to patient safety, and the environments doctors work and train in.
“Therefore, it is important that trainees and trainers take the time to share their perspectives.
“The results will be used to improve doctors’ experiences, as well as those of their peers and patients, by highlighting areas of good practice and those where action is needed.”
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