National Survey on Training in Pediatric Cardiology by the “Junges Forum” of the DGPK

Abstract

Background This is the first national survey of residents and fellows in pediatric cardiology in Germany evaluating training, research activity, and the general working environment. Methods An online questionnaire including 62 questions (SurveyMonkey) was developed by the “Junges Forum” of the German Society of Pediatric Cardiology. Fellows and residents during training and up to 3 years after completing their pediatric cardiology fellowship were invited to participate. Results A total of 102 pediatric cardiology fellows and residents completed the questionnaire. Many participants complained about their training as being unstructured (47%) and non-transparent (37%). The numbers of technical and catheter interventions required by the national medical board in Germany cannot be achieved, especially regarding invasive procedures. Sixty per cent work more than contractually agreed, usually in Germany it is 40 hours daytime work plus on calls, while 90% of all participants prefer less than 50 weekly working hours; 50% of the participants are engaged in research that is usually done during their spare time. More than 90% are satisfied with their professional relationships with colleagues and coworkers. Seventy-eight per cent describe their career perspectives as promising, and 84% would start a fellowship in pediatric cardiology again. Conclusion The majority of pediatric cardiology fellows and residents are satisfied with their working environment and with their choice of a career in pediatric cardiology. Besides the heavy work load, we identified the urgent desire for better structured transparent clinical training concept including the teaching of manual skills, i.e., invasive procedures and catheterization.

Paediatric and adult congenital cardiology education and training in Europe

“…Such training can prove stressful for trainees even in well-structured programmes; hence, it is critically important that the training provided be of high-quality and relatively standardised across different borders. 19,22 Creative solutions in reducing stress may include novel instructional techniques (e.g. echocardiography bootcamp or simulation) which can be easily incorporated into training at an early stage to allay some of these pressures on trainees.…”

“…Other weaknesses reported included too few fellows in the programme, lack of formalised training structure (teaching/assessment), 22 lack of standardisation of subspecialist services, smaller centres with limited capacity to deliver all subspecialist services, and lack of local access to a cardiac morphology course. The latter is more recently becoming more readily achievable remotely as well as via the excellent "in person" courses run in the United Kingdom (Great Ormond Street Hospital, Royal Brompton & Harefield hospitals (rbt.nhs.uk) and via the online Heart Academy (cardiacmorphology.com)).…”

National Survey Regarding Motivation and Conditions of Physicians Working in a Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit

“…This speaks against a “generation conflict” 20 21 with increased attention to the so-called “work–life balance” by the younger generation, but rather suggests that an orderly family life/social life with many weekend shifts becomes less feasible with increasing age. 22 Social compensation in particular helps staff to deal with stressful borderline situations, to cope with a heavy workload, 23 and it can improve patient care. 23 24 25…”

“…22 Social compensation in particular helps staff to deal with stressful borderline situations, to cope with a heavy workload, 23 and it can improve patient care. 23 24 25…”

Entrustable Professional Activities and Their Relevance to Pediatric Cardiology Training

“…Fellows who were assessed felt that intermittent observation from faculty is inadequate and that the volume of echocardiographic studies performed is a poor surrogate for technical competency [ 32 ]. In addition to the steep knowledge and technical learning curves, fellows attributed disorganized learning structures, burnout from excessive duty hours, imposter syndrome, and a feeling of inadequacy to anxiety and uncertainty after graduation [ 26 , 33 ]. One way programs have taken initiative with these issues is the creation of “boot camps” for first-year fellows.…”