Reacting to today’s publication of the GMC’s “State of medical education and practice in the UK”, Professor Michael Griffin OBE, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh said:
Unfortunately, the report again highlights how much work there is still to be done to support both trainees and trainers. Covid has of course significantly disrupted surgery, with a third of all surgeons being redeployed outside their specialty. This has resulted in increased waiting lists and reduced opportunities for trainees to develop their skills and gain competencies.
Indeed, 85% surgical trainees and 90% surgical trainers said their training was disrupted, and just over a quarter of trainees had no access to local teaching opportunities.
Moreover, whilst the report shows that whilst the pandemic had some positive impacts on teamworking and knowledge sharing, doctors from BAME backgrounds were less likely to have experienced these benefits.
Similarly, workplace culture continues to remain problematic, with 36% of those who left the medical profession citing it as the reason for leaving. 27% of leavers blamed stress and 5.5% bullying.
11% of trainees felt at risk from burn out, so as we face a difficult period of increased winter pressures, ongoing Covid cases and a growing backlog of elective surgery. Both the Royal College of Surgeons and our Faculty of Surgical Trainers will closely monitor the professional and personal state of our trainees and redouble our efforts to support them.