Connect
MJA
MJA

The junior doctor in distress: the role of a medical education officer at the systems level

Anne A Martin
Med J Aust 2002; 177 (1): S20. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04623.x
Published online: 1 July 2002

The training of junior doctors requires a delicate balance between "on the job" experience and quality training. . . . The preregistration year is a time in which training, skills and working role are consolidated under supervision, and it has been suggested that it may be the most stressful period in medical practice.1

In South Australian teaching hospitals, the education and training of doctors in their prevocational years is currently the domain of a team comprising a Director of Clinical Training (DCT) and a Medical Education Officer (MEO), in conjunction with a general clinical training committee. The overarching aim of the DCT–MEO team is to ensure high-quality patient care by guiding and supporting the developing junior doctor. To achieve this, the team works both in and on the system of the public teaching hospital.

Quality management and evaluation of JMO education and training

Quality-monitoring and improvement systems are vital in a structure which is responsible for staff development, as the teaching hospitals are for JMO education and training. Quality management is an important role for the MEO with educational evaluation experience.

MEOs adopt a wide range of evaluation strategies, including questionnaires, interviews and participant observation, resulting in both quantitative and qualitative data. The MEO encourages and coordinates assessment and feedback from supervisory staff on, for example, JMOs' clinical competence, but also vice versa from JMOs about their supervisors on individual term rotations. The gathering of evaluative data about the individual terms, and on the hospital's education and training program as a whole, is essential for quality improvement.

Support systems for JMOs

While formal administrative structures can be designed to facilitate the successful progress of JMOs through their service and training commitments, additional, less formal systems are also necessary. Another role for the MEO is to advocate for, initiate and organise professional, personal and educational support for JMOs. This can include:

Provision of a supportive system and atmosphere within the teaching hospital can be facilitated by the DCT–MEO team, giving junior doctors opportunities and encouragement to support each other and themselves.4

  • Anne A Martin1

  • Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, SA.


Correspondence: Anne.Martin@flinders.edu.au

  • 1. Bogg J, Gibbs T, Bundred P. Training, job demands and mental health of pre-registration house officers. Med Educ 2001; 35: 590-595.
  • 2. Schofield K, Saunders NA. Education and training in the early postgraduate years: the NSW experience. Ann Community-Oriented Educ 1993; 6: 173-179.
  • 3. Firth-Cozens J. Emotional distress in junior house officers. BMJ 1987; 295: 533-536.
  • 4. Davis M. Intern discussion group: a supportive education experience for junior doctors. Hosp Med 1999; 60: 435-439.

Author

remove_circle_outline Delete Author
add_circle_outline Add Author

Comment
Do you have any competing interests to declare? *

I/we agree to assign copyright to the Medical Journal of Australia and agree to the Conditions of publication *
I/we agree to the Terms of use of the Medical Journal of Australia *
Email me when people comment on this article

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.