Information about the person responsible for the training protects resident doctors from excessive workload

Background   Post-graduate medical education (PGME) includes regular guidance and support for professional growth. A high workload impairs the learning experienced by resident doctors. This study examined whether regular guidance, information about the person responsible for the training, and support for professional growth are related to the workload that enables learning.

Methods   The study is based on the annual Training place survey for Finnish doctors in PGME. The survey was conducted by the Finnish Junior Doctors’ Association and the Finnish Medical Association between 2018 and 2021. Cross-tabulation and logistic regression analysis were used in the data analysis (n = 5980).

Results   A total of 28 % of the respondents felt that the workload did not enable learning. The risk of learning-threatening workload seemed to increase most significantly if the resident doctors did not know who was responsible for their training (OR 6.91, 95 % LV 5.55–8.61). Lack of regular guidance (OR 2.52, 95 % LV 1.67–3.81), job guidance (OR 2.97, 95 % LV 1.61–5.48) and other professional support (OR 3.10, 95 % LV 2.13–4.53) also caused risk.

Conclusions   Too many resident doctors experience an excessive workload, which is associated with the lack of structure in PGME and lack of support for professional growth.

Nea Meriranta, Katariina Seittenranta, Peppiina Saastamoinen, Sara Kaartinen