Senior house officer perspectives on the educational benefits of a local teaching programme at a specialist orthopaedic hospital

Abstract

Background: Delivering local teaching programmes equally relevant to all senior house officer (SHO) equivalent junior doctors within a tertiary level specialist hospital is challenging. This study aimed to establish the views of SHOs within a specialist orthopaedic hospital on the value of the current local teaching programme to their educational needs how it may potentially be improved? Methods: Data was collected via questionnaires of SHOs selected through a combination of convenience and purposive sampling. Responses underwent thematic analysis which utilised a hybrid model of a priori and emergent coding. Results: 12 (50%) of SHOs within the hospital responded. Thematic analysis of completed questionnaires resulted in identification of 4 main themes: quality/utility of teaching, content of teaching, accessibility of teaching and non-educational benefits. Feedback received regarding the existing local teaching programme was largely positive. Opinions on the utility and content of the teaching programme were found to be the most varied. Conclusion: This study highlights the difficulties in delivering a teaching programme to a clinical learner group with diverse educational needs in a specialist hospital setting. Such issues may be minimised by learner survey to identify educational topics of equivalent utility to the majority of the learner group.