Thursday 25 July 2024
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has described the findings of a survey showing that doctors training in Emergency Medicine (EM) report the highest rate of burnout across all specialties as “upsetting but not surprising”.
One third of EM trainees said they were at high risk of burnout – higher than the cross-specialty figure which stands at 25%.
EM trainees also report extreme workloads with almost three-quarters (72%) describing what they are managing as ‘heavy or very heavy’.
The data comes from The National Training Survey, released today (Thursday 25 July) by the General Medical Council (GMC) which surveyed more than 70,000 doctors in training and trainers across the UK in its annual poll.
It also found:
When it came to the training they receive just 57% of Emergency Medicine trainees said they were given appropriate training opportunities to develop leadership skills – a reduction from 61% in 2023 and 64% in 2022.
Hannah Baird, Co-Chair of RCEM’s Emergency Medicine Trainee Association (EMTA) Committee said: “The results of this survey show that Emergency Medicine is again at the ‘top’ of chart for high workload and risk of burnout.
“To those working in the specialty, this will come as no surprise. It is, however, no less important that it is recognised, and we continue to call for a whole system approach to tackling corridor care and overcrowding which so greatly impacts our workload.
“In recognising the high levels of burnout, we will continue to advocate for access to training and learning opportunities. It is sad to see the number of trainees feeling they have leadership opportunity is on a downward trend, perhaps it is time to revisit how this is done as part of our training.
“Most shockingly perhaps is the 15% of female and 5% of male trainees experiencing some form of sexual harassment at work. This is not acceptable. We as a committee are working with other RCEM leaders to review how we can help stamp out a culture of bullying and harassment from our departments. We encourage anyone experiencing harassment to reach out for support.”
Dr Adrian Boyle, President of RCEM said: “As this survey illustrates, burnout is a particular issue in Emergency Medicine, for those both new and experienced in the field. The specialty is under immense pressure, and this will inevitably have consequences for those choosing to enter the workforce. Burnout should not be an accepted part of the job. It is an effect of chronic under resourcing and years of extreme pressure on A&Es.
“The prevalence of discrimination and sexual harassment within the workforce revealed in this survey shows the NHS still has a long way to go to tackle toxic behaviours and culture.
“If these issues are not addressed, competent doctors will sadly feel there is no choice but to leave the workforce, compounding longstanding capacity and retention issues. We all have a part to play to make healthcare a safe and sustainable career and a health service that is fit for purpose.”
