Adherence to the rcpch trainee charter in wales and the impact of the covid-19 pandemic of training. A perspective of trainees

ABSTRACT

Backgroundthe RCPCH published a charter in 2019 outlining the what a trainee should expect from their training across 7 domainsEducational supervision.RotaFatigue, rest facilities, breaks.Less than full time training (LTFT)Training environmentTraining programme’s.The Wales deanery has signed up to comply with this charter. Until this study adherence to this charter has not been evaluated.The Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on training in Wales. Many trainees have been redeployed within paediatrics or moved to support adult services under pressure.AimsTo evaluate adherence to the trainee charter from the perspective of trainees in wales across domains 1–5.To asses what primary role trainee’s undertook during the pandemic.ObjectivesTo evaluate adherence to the trainee charter from the perspective of trainees in wales across domains 1–5.To asses what primary role trainee’s undertook during the pandemic.MethodsWe designed a questionnaire using google forms and sent it by e-mail to all trainees in wales.We asked trainees about each point from 5 domains of the charter and asked whether in their current role they strongly agreed, agreed, were neutral, disagreed or strongly disagreed. We categorised strongly agree/agree as a positive response and disagree/strongly disagree as a negative response. We also asked which hospital site they were based in allowing us to compare experiences across the country.A further question we asked was during the pandemic did they remain in acute paediatrics, were they redeployed to adult services, did they shield, or would they rather not say.ResultsWe received 22 responses from trainees across 12 hospital sites. For each domain overall the results wereEducational supervision 68% positive. 16% neutral. 17% negative.Teaching 47% positive, 12%neutral, 41% negativeRota 33% positive, 16% neutral, 40% negativeFatigue, rest facilities and breaks 36% positive, 15% neutral, 48% negativeLTFT 78% positive, 6% neutral, 17% negative.Regarding redeployment during the initial Covid-19 spike March- June 2020 68% remained in clinical paediatrics. 23% were redeployed to adult services, 4% shielded, 4% did not wish to say.ConclusionsWe received mixed results across the domains assessed. This highlights opportunities for improvement in the adherence to the charter and hopefully improvements for the experiences of trainees. By looking at the results from specific questions put to trainees we can target areas for improvement. We believe that the trainee charter provides a framework for trainees to thrive in their training and by addressing key points raised by this study we can improve the experience of trainees.