Lack of sleep and irregular meals hit doctors

Despite struggling with irregular meals and a lack of sleep, three out of four junior doctors said they enjoyed their first year as an intern.

A survey by the Medical Protection Society (MPS) found that more than 90% of junior doctors often worked beyond their contracted hours.

While a third were questioning their career choice, just over 3% were thinking of leaving the medical profession.

The survey of current intern doctors found that 55% chose to be a doctor because they wanted to help people.

Over half of the doctors (55%) said they intended practising in Ireland, but one in five (20%) said they were considering working abroad.

For just over 40%, being a doctor was better than they had imagined, 30% said it was exactly as they had imagined, while 28% said it was worse.

Almost seven out of 10 interns said they had to work without the supervision that they thought they needed.

Over 80% said more doctors would increase their job satisfaction, 70% wanted less bureaucracy, and 64% wanted to be listened to by management.

Over three quarters (77%) said they had concerns about the quality of care in their workplace but just one in five had helped to identify patient safety concerns.

The most challenging aspect of being a young doctor was having to bear the brunt of patients’ frustrations with the health system (69%) and not having enough time to give patients the care they require (66%).

However, just 5% of the intern doctors said they had time off work for stress.

Asked what they felt was lacking in their preparation for next year, most doctors (88%) said it was clinical knowledge.

The Medical Council’s report for 2014 shows that there were more than 19,000 registered doctors at the end of last year, the highest number in a decade.

However, its first survey of all trainee doctors found just more than half (54%) intend practising medicine in Ireland for the foreseeable future, with one in five (21%) not intending to practise in Ireland and a further one in four (25%) undecided.

However, half of those wanting to leave Ireland intended returning at some stage. Britain was the most likely destination for trainees, followed by Canada, Australia, and the US.

The survey found that just over half of the junior doctors had read the Medical Council’s guide to professional conduct and ethics for medical practitioners.

Gordan McDavid, medical legal adviser with MPS, said intern doctors needed more support to fulfil their potential.

“There is an onus on senior clinicians and clinical managers to harness the enthusiasm of interns and provide them with support and mentoring through the early years of training,” he said.

“It is also crucial for these leaders to encourage an open and supportive culture in the healthcare sector. Any team member should feel confident to realise concerns, if they have them and feel safe in the knowledge that they will be managed appropriately.

“Recognition of problems and open discussion should be routine rather than feared.”

The MPS, an organisation for helping doctors, dentists, and healthcare professionals, has launched a web page providing tips and advice for interns. Dr McDavid said they wanted junior doctors to be aware of where they could go for help.

medicalprotection.org/ ireland