ABSTRACT
AIMS: To assess the views of senior medical officers (SMOs) at Auckland City Hospital (Auckland, New Zealand) in the areas of teaching, supervision, and feedback for resident medical officers (RMOs). METHODS: All SMOs at Auckland City Hospital were asked to complete a survey regarding postgraduate medical education. Data was then collected and entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and was statistically analysed. P values were calculated using Chi-squared testing and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: 237/730 surveys were received giving a response rate of 32.1%. There was a statistically significant difference between SMOs self-rated competence (SRC) and their perceived required competence (RC) in the domains of 'Teaching' (SRC=3.74; RC=4.36 - p<0.0001), 'Supervision' (SRC=3.78; RC=4.37 - p<0.0001) and 'Feedback' (SRC=3.55; RC=4.36 - p<0.0001). Ratings were done on a 5-point Likert scale where a score of 1 was poor and a score of 5 was excellent. SMOs were then asked whether they required further information around various postgraduate medical education topics. 79.9% requested information on 'managing the poorly performing RMO'. Dual employees (i.e. SMOs employed by both the University of Auckland and Auckland City Hospital) were more likely to have attended a 'Teach the Teacher Course' (66.6%) than those SMOs only employed by Auckland City Hospital (43.3%, p=0.0083). A number of factors were also identified as barriers to conducting effective teaching. These included a lack of time, high clinical workload, poor continuity between trainees and SMOs, and a lack of recognition for teaching roles of SMOs. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed a gap between the perceived self-rated competence and required competence in SMOs in their role as teachers. There is also a perceived gap in support for SMOs in their role as teachers and the expected educational outcomes for trainees within the New Zealand clinical setting.
