Agenda Why the survey matters NTS 2013: what the survey told us last year Survey content Confidentiality How to take part

Why the survey matters

Your views count The survey is your opportunity to help improve the quality of postgraduate and foundation training across the UK. It is an important part of the work the GMC does to monitor the quality of medical education and training in the UK. Views you have about your training post will help deaneries, local education and training boards (LETBs), trusts, boards, hospitals, practices, and other training providers, identify areas of good practice and areas that need improvement within their patch.

The results make a difference Survey results do make a difference to the quality of training posts. The results are used by deaneries, local education and training boards (LETBs) and other training providers. They analyse the results carefully and make improvements where required.

The results make a difference You can find detailed case studies of how survey results have influenced improvements at including: The introduction of structured joint training sessions between acute medicine and emergency medicine trainees at a particular hospital, after survey results showed their training was poor. An emergency medicine department showed poor overall results, which triggered a GMC visit. Improvements included hiring more permanent consultants, better rota arrangements and changes to the departmental induction. At an intensive care unit, where bullying and undermining had been reported, mandatory leadership training has been introduced for consultants to help improve their approach to giving feedback.

NTS 2013: what the survey told us last year

What the survey told us last year Last year, 97.7% of doctors in training responded to the survey. 81.7% rated the quality of experience in their current post as good or excellent. Up by 0.6% on % of trainees have a dedicated educational supervisor who is responsible for their appraisal. Up by 0.7% on % said they always knew their who their clinical supervisor was and that they were easily accessible. Up from 0.8% on 2012.

Bullying and undermining In 2013, the GMC looked at undermining and published a report on the issue. “Over 13% of respondents reported being victims of bullying and harassment in their training programme.” From the GMC’s report: National training survey 2013: Undermining

Bullying and undermining This year, the GMC are looking at new ways to investigate undermining including: Testing a new approach with deaneries and LETBs. Testing new survey questions to show how supportive a doctor in training finds their training environment, to identify areas of good practice. Carrying out visits to training providers where bullying and undermining is a concern. Read our report at

Patient safety In 2013, the GMC also published a report on patient safety concerns. 2,746 trainees raised a concern about patient safety. A further 5,863 said they did have a concern, but it had been addressed. Following feedback from doctors in training, the GMC are including more information in this year’s survey to make clear what they do with concerns raised in the survey. Read the report at

Survey content

What the survey asks you Generic training questions (multi-choice) General, questions about your training post. Programme/specialty specific questions (multi-choice) Questions about your training programme (eg Foundation Programme or Cardiology) including academic questions if you are an academic trainee. Bullying and undermining (free text) If you have a concern about bullying and/or undermining, you can report it here. Patient safety (free text) If you have a concern about patient safety, you can report it here.

Confidentiality

Your answers to multi-choice questions on training are confidential. They will only be reported after being aggregated. To protect your identity, the GMC only publishes results on its website where three or more trainees have contributed responses.

Confidentiality Your free text responses are treated differently. The GMC will share your verbatim comments with your deanery/LETB, who in turn may share them with your employer/training provider. The GMC, your deanery/LETB, and your employer/training provider all have a duty to ensure any concerns raised are properly responded to, which may include a local investigation. For more information about this, please read the confidentiality page at

How to take part

Don’t wait for an invitation. Log on to GMC Online after 26 March Your survey will be waiting for you to complete – if it is not there, contact your deanery/LETB survey team. The GMC and your deanery/LETB will send you reminder s and text messages during the survey period. You must complete your survey submission by midday on 8 May 2014.

Who takes part If you hold a GMC-approved training post, you must complete the survey. This includes: Foundation trainees Core trainees Higher specialty training, including SpR and GP trainees FTSTA trainees, LAT trainees Military trainees Trainees in Clinical Lecturer and Academic Clinical Fellowship posts

Who takes part (2) If you hold a GMC-approved training post, you must complete the survey. This includes: Out of programme training (OOPT) on an approved programme in the UK Post-CCT training towards a sub-specialty Trainees working for non-NHS organisations, e.g. occupational medicine, palliative medicine and pharmaceutical medicine Non-medical public health trainees*. *Non medical public health trainees will not access the survey via GMC Online. They will be invited to take part by their faculty.

Not taking part If you are not in a GMC-approved training post in the UK on 26 March, you should not take the survey. This includes doctors: On maternity leave on 26 March On out of programme training (OOPT) not in an approved programme On out of programme research (OOPR) On out of programme career breaks (OOPC) In medical training initiative (MTI) posts In locum appointment for service (LAS) posts Who have been awarded their CCT, but are awaiting a consultant post (in their grace period).

Completion code Once you have completed the survey, you should take a note of your completion code, which appears on the final screen. This will be your proof that you’ve completed it. Any time after the survey, you’ll be able to log back into GMC Online and look up your code in the My Surveys tab.

Key dates ASAP: Ensure you have access to your GMC Online account 26 March: The launch date for the survey 26 March – 8 May: Log on to GMC Online to take part in the survey 8 May: Survey closes

Key dates Late June: National key findings report published. This gives an overview of the main findings from the survey. Online reporting tool launched. This allows for in depth exploration of the results as they relate to specific deaneries / local education and training boards and trusts. From the autumn: Publication of report on questions about patient safety and undermining.

Further information The national training survey is developed and delivered in collaboration with local postgraduate deans and medical royal colleges and faculties. For additional information please visit the survey website: If you have any comments or queries please contact