National Survey of Trainee Doctors 2010

The National Survey of Trainee Doctors provides a picture of what the UK's trainees think about their training. The survey is a vital source of feedback and the information we need to help improve the quality, now and in the future, of specialty including GP training in the UK.

How the survey works

The survey is your way to tell us about your experiences of training. Your survey response along with other evidence we gather, helps give us a picture of training within your location, specialty and trust.

It helps inform us about areas you may need more support and where we may be able to prompt action to improve the training you receive.

Your survey responses provide a pivotal part of the evidence which is necessary for effective quality assurance of training across the UK.

Your survey responses feed into many areas of QA, such as the action plans your deanery provides, which are monitored as part of their annual reporting and the visits to deaneries programme.

Who is required to take part in the trainees' survey? All trainees in posts within programmes approved by the GMC (or its predecessor body, PMETB), ACF/CF posts and foundation posts are required to take part in the trainees’ survey. Specifically these include: Foundation trainees (F1 and F2 trainees on the Foundation Programme) Core trainees Higher specialty including SpR and GP trainees regardless of setting FTSTA trainees LAT trainees Military trainees – all military trainees working in NHS organisations and within the  services should be included Trainees in Clinical Lecturer and Academic Clinical Fellowship posts approved by the GMC (or its predecessor body PMETB): only fill one survey for both specialty and academic post of GP programme Trainees working for non-NHS organizations, for instance trainees in Occupational  medicine, Pharmaceutical medicine and Palliative medicine are all included. The following trainees do not need to take part: Trainees on maternity leave on the census date Trainees on Out Of Programme Training (OOPT) or Out Of Programme Research  (OOPR) on the census date Dentists Doctors who have been awarded their CCT but are awaiting a consultant post Public health practitioner trainees who are not medically qualified

What to expect from the survey

The survey is multiple choice and includes generic training questions followed by specialty-specific questions. There is also some opportunity to provide further comments.

The 2010 trainees’ survey questions address:

• Patient safety
• Quality assurance, review and evaluation
• Delivery of curriculum, including assessment
• Support and development of trainees, trainers and local faculty
• Educational resources and capacity

Previous trainee doctors survey reports

The 2008/09 National Survey of Trainee Doctors reports can be found at the reporting tool.

You can also read the National Surveys 2008/09: Key findings (pdf).