Trainees assessment of vocational training in psychiatry: a pilot study at the Maudsley Hospital

Abstract

Summary The adequacy of postgraduate trainees is assessed rather more frequently than that of the teaching process. A survey was therefore undertaken of the views of sixty‐two junior psychiatrists regarding the clinical units they had worked on during their 3‐year rotational training programme at the Maudsley Hospital. The quality of the training experience was felt to be related to work load (not too light), to the number of trainees attached to each consultant, and to the attention given by the consultant to instruction on practical management. The factors felt to need most attention were feedback from consultants on the trainee's performance, and the standards of academic instruction and of interdisciplinary team‐work.

Research during psychiatric training as a predictor of future academic research career: the Maudsley experience

“…A follow-up study of trainees from the years 1946 to 1958 was conducted by Davies and Stein (1963), while Russell (1967) performed a 5-year follow-up of 120 trainees who had completed the academic DPM. Russell (1972) has also described the scheme itself in some detail, while the trainees' view of the teaching has been assessed by Jeffreys and Murray (1976), Creed and Murray (1981), and Fahy and Beats (1990).…”

Psychiatric training at the Maudsley Hospital: a survey of junior psychiatrists' experiences

“…Walton (1986) suggests that encouragement from the consultant and participation in collaborative research work may be the best method of generating an interest in research among trainees. Previous findings suggested that consultants often failed in their responsibility to junior staff to promote and facilitate research work (Jeffreys & Murray, 1976;Creed & Murray, 1981). These studies were conducted at a time when psychiatric research in Britain was thought by some to have lost its 'elusive impetus' (Lancet, 1976).…”

“…Categorical responses were also used, corresponding with those used in previous questionnaires (Jeffreys & Murray, 1976;Creed & Murray, 1981).…”

“…For example, at a time ofconsiderable change in the rules governing professional examinations in psychiatry, trainees made highly effective contributions to the debate (Clare, 1972;O'Farrell, 1973;Creed, 1980). One method of clarifying trainees' opinions about the quality of their training is by surveying current and recently completed trainees, as was done at the Maudsley Hospital in 1974 by Jeffreys & Murray (1976) and in 1977 by Creed & Murray (1981). These authors recommend that the views oftrainees should be carefully and systematically monitored so that training programmes can be critically assessed by the consumer and appropriate alterations can be made where possible.…”

Consumer audit of psychiatric training

“…Their final sentence, "It may be that future research into AD should be directed more towards the mouth than the brain" (Burns et al, 1992) (Burns et al, 1992) which turned out to be a hoax.…”