PHOTO: RON CATHRO


02 FYi


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Welcome News


TRAINEES TO SAVE HUNDREDS Welcome to your FYi


IN the middle of a (mostly) scorching summer, many of you will be busy starting your final year or first year as a junior doctor. Communicating effectively is a vital skill for our work, but there are many other fun opportunities. On page 4, I look at how you can get involved with writing for blogs, magazines and other media and highlight the benefits of refining your literary skills. And to inspiration of a


different kind, in the field of scientific discovery. On page 5 medical researcher Dr Allan Gaw highlights the importance of following key rules to get the best results. The study of “human factors” and their link to medical error has helped improve patient safety in many ways. Dr Michael Moneypenny explains more about this growing field on page 6. The latest research suggests weekend surgical patients are more likely to die, so is it time hospitals switched to 24/7 care? Our


article on page 7 investigates. The ways that doctors


communicate are among the most common sources of patient complaints. So how can you be sure you are really listening? Experts from the Maguire Unit offer advice on page 10. Doctors with charity Médecins


Sans Frontières often have to deliver care in volatile conflict zones at great risk to their own safety. Adam Campbell finds out more about this remarkable organisation on page 12. For those seeking a less dangerous challenge that offers the chance to answer some of the most intriguing scientific questions – a career in academic medicine might be for you. Find out more on page 8.


Our case study on page 14


deals with a case of misdiagnosed leg pain with tragic consequences.


Dr Anne Parfitt-Rogers Editor


COVER PHOTO: PETER CASAER


OF POUNDS ON FEES TRAINEE doctors stand to make big savings on professional fees thanks to a new tax deal between the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and HM Revenue and Customs. The move means surgical trainees will now be able to claim back against taxable income the £185 a year they pay to the Joint Committee on Surgical Training. The committee manages surgical training for all four UK surgical royal colleges. Medical specialty trainees will now benefit from tax relief on the


£169 they pay each year to the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board. The board is responsible for setting and maintaining training standards for the three UK Royal Colleges of Physicians in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.


TRAINEES’ CONCERNS OVER POOR HANDOVERS AND LONG HOURS


A FIFTH of trainee doctors have raised concerns over poor patient handovers and of feeling sleep deprived at work.


An annual national


survey of UK trainees by the General Medical Council found 20 per cent of trainees said handover arrangements before and after night duty were informal or that there were no arrangements at all. More than half of


those surveyed (58.5 per cent) also said they worked beyond their agreed hours on a daily or weekly basis with just over 22 per cent feeling short of sleep at work.


EDITOR: Dr Anne Parfitt-Rogers


ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Joanne Curran


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Around a third of trainees described their daytime workload as “heavy” while one in 10 said it was “very heavy”. A total of 52,797 trainees responded to the National training survey


2013, a response rate of 97.7 per cent. Other results showed 15 per cent of trainees felt forced to cope with


clinical problems beyond their competence or experience on a weekly or monthly basis. Just over half of the 6,000 GP trainees surveyed said they have felt forced to work beyond their competence. Of these, a fifth said this happened daily, weekly or monthly with the rest saying it happened “rarely”.


Despite these concerns, overall satisfaction remains high with just


over 80 per cent satisfied with their training and 90 per cent saying they were supervised by someone who was competent to do so. GP trainees remain the most satisfied with their training, which is the same as in previous surveys. They gave an average satisfaction score of 87.9 per cent. Surgical trainees are the least satisfied at 77.1 per cent, but the figure is up on last year’s 69 per cent. The vast majority of trainees (79 per cent) thought the post would be very useful or useful for their future career. The GMC said it plans to work with those involved in medical training, including managers and medical directors, to “bring about further improvements and change.” National training survey 2013, www.tinyurl.com/gmc2013


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