33% of trainee doctors have experienced bullying

One third of trainee doctors have experienced bullying — more than twice that experienced by their British counterparts.

According to the first study of all trainee doctors in Ireland, the experience of being bullied in the workplace, of observing others being bullied, and of experiencing undermining behaviour from a senior doctor is “endemic” among trainees here.

Approximately three in 10 trainees reported personal experience of bullying and undermining behaviour, and this experience was over two times more prevalent than for their British counterparts.

The Irish Medical Council study also found that while most trainees had a positive overall experience of induction and orientation to the clinical environment as a place to work and learn, many trainees identified deficiencies in core areas.

For example, almost 30% of trainee doctors said that their role and responsibilities were not explained to them. The prevalence of this issue among trainees in Ireland is two to three times greater than trainee doctors in Britain.

For half of interns who reported that preparedness was an issue, lack of preparedness was a “medium-sized” or “serious” problem. Irish trainees were two times more likely to report that preparedness was a problem compared to their counterparts in Britain.

While trainees generally identified their individual consultant or GP as a positive role model, they were less positive about professional relations between consultants — a finding the Irish Medical Council labelled “concerning”.

More than eight in 10 trainees rated the quality of care at the clinical site where they trained as good or very good. Compared with other trainees, interns had a poorer view of the quality of care. Trainees at smaller hospitals also had poorer views on the quality of care.

Commenting on the findings, the president of the medical council, Prof Freddie Wood, saidthat the real value of the study would be in the debate and discussion which follows.

“Critical questions about medical education and training can only be answered by open dialogue with everyone involved in medical education and training in Ireland — trainees, medical educators, and employers,” he said.

“Your Training Counts [an annual national trainee experience survey] puts the voice of trainees at the centre of this discussion. The report helps build an evidence base for informed decision-making, and is a baseline from which we can track continuous improvement in the coming years.”

Health Minister Leo Varadkar said that the survey would now be undertaken annually so doctor training could be improved, but said the number reporting that they felt bullied was “worrying”.

“Some of the findings are very encouraging, especially the positive feedback about the quality of care and teamwork. However, others are worrying including experiences of being undermined, bullying and lack of clarity about their role and responsibilities,” he said.

“As someone who went through post-graduate training in the last decade, I am personally behind any and all attempts to improve things. I congratulate the medical council on producing the survey.”