30% of trainee doctors report bullying or undermining behaviour

Three in ten doctors reported being bullied or undermined while they were in training, according to a new survey from the Irish Medical Council.

The report, published today, is the first survey of all trainee doctors in Ireland, and it's now planned to carry out the exercise every year.

Key findings:

• 85% of trainees said the quality of care at clinical sites was "good" or "very good".

• High marks were given to the role of consultant, teamwork, and collaboration.

• Areas not rated highly include feedback, professional relations between consultants, and the role of the educational supervisor.

• Three out of every 10 trainees reported bullying or being undermined - twice as high as reports of bullying in the UK.

The Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, said the annual survey would be used to monitor and improve the training experience.

"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.

"As someone who went through post-graduate training in the last decade, I am personally behind any and all attempts to improve things," he said.

"The important thing now is that all involved in medical education and training take stock and look to replicate the good practice highlighted in the report and address the less positive issues arising," said Caroline Spillane, CEO of the Medical Council.

"Further research and examination will be required in some areas, but we hope that everyone involved in medical education acts on these results and forms part of a collective, comprehensive response."

The Medical Council will publish another report from the survey in early 2015, which will examine health of trainee doctors, emigration, and career plans.

— Dave Molloy