Around one-in-10 new trainees received one or fewer days’ shadowing before starting work this year, according to a survey of around 1,700 foundation doctor 1s (F1s).
The majority received two or three days of hands-on clinical experience during induction. Initial results of a survey of F1s in England, Wales and Malta, led by the Severn Deanery foundation school, show more than 96% of newly qualified doctors were at least partly funded to attend hospital induction sessions. Commenting on the figures,Tom Dolphin, BMA junior doctors committee chair, said: “It sounds as though most people who got their full shadowing period found it very useful in flattening the learning curve. I am concerned, however, that one-in-10 say they only had one day of actual shadowing.”
