2010 AMA Specialist Trainee Survey
The Report of Findings for the 2010 AMA Specialist Trainee Survey (STS) were released on 2 October 2011. While the STS has been several years in the making, the AMA hopes the results of the survey will provide medical colleges with important trainee feedback about key training issues. The STS revealed that colleges are performing well in many areas of vocational training, including transparency of selection processes; alignment of clinical experience with training objectives; access to supervision; and adherence to safe hours guidelines. It identified, however, several areas of concern.
The AMA has released the findings of its 2010 Specialist Trainee Survey (STS), which provides medical colleges with trainee feedback about key training issues, as well as many other aspects of their operation. To our knowledge, the survey represents the first attempt at getting feedback from trainees of all medical colleges on college performance against the Australian Medical Council's standards for speciality education.
The STS revealed that colleges and health services are performing well in many areas of vocational training, including:
- Alignment of clinical experience with training objectives;
- Access to supervision; and
- Adherence to safe hours guidelines.
There were, however, significant areas where trainees felt that there is room for improvement. These included:
- Access to effective appeals processes;
- Capacity to raise concerns without fear of recrimination;
- Recognition of prior learning;
- Provision of feedback and remediation;
- Responsiveness to cases of bullying and harassment; and
- Value for money, and overall cost of training.
These results will be of value to colleges and health services in reflecting on their performance against the AMC standards for specialty education and training. It is hoped that this report will prompt institutions to internally review their education and training policies, with a particular focus on the areas of trainee dissatisfaction.
The AMA is planning to conduct the STS every four years. Monitoring trends in vocational training is critical to ensuring that the increasing number of trainees does not dilute the quality of clinical training and, by extension, the standard of care afforded to Australian patients.
A summary of the survey findings were also published in the MJA and were accompanied by an editorial.
