Are emergency department junior doctors becoming less experienced in performing common practical procedures?
UK trainee doctors working in emergency care claim they are gaining less experience of common practical procedures, suggests a small study in Emergency Medicine Journal. UK trainee doctors working in emergency care claim they are gaining less experience of common practical procedures, suggests a small study in Emergency Medicine Journal. A shortened training programme for UK doctors was introduced in 2005, amid fears that it would lead to a reduction in competence and confidence among trainees. Seventeen trainee doctors working in the emergency care department of one large teaching hospital were surveyed in 2005 and 2006, exactly one year apart. They were quizzed about their experience of performing six practical procedures commonly performed in emergency care. These included the manipulation of a wrist (Colles) fracture and a dislocated shoulder, suturing and exploring wounds, draining an abscess, and inserting a chest drain. The doctors were asked to respond on a scale, ranging from
