Trainee Doctor Survey
In 2007/8 the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) and the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans (COPMeD) undertook a national survey
of trainee doctors.
Two of the questions in the survey related to the European Working Time Directive 2009 and compliance with this. The result showed that over two thirds of all junior doctors in all grades and all specialties felt they were compliant with the directive. The methodology and results of the survey are explained in the following article by Daniel Smith, head of surveys at PMETB.
PMETB/COPMeD National Survey of Trainee Doctors: trainees’ perceptions of EWTD compliance
The survey
PMETB and COPMeD ran the second annual National Survey of Trainee Doctors in 2007/08. All trainee doctors in PMETB educationally approved posts were targeted. The survey was administered using a web form. Trainee doctors were sent an initial, individual email requesting their participation and reminders were then sent to noncompleters. Confidentiality was assured. The survey was carried out between November 2007 and February 2008.
The response rate varied by deanery from 45% to 82% (nationally 33,329/50,240 valid emails = 66%). Full details of the methodology are available in the PMETB 2007 summary report.
Two of the survey’s questions were specifically concerned with the European Working Time Directive (EWTD):
- In this post, are your rostered working hours compliant with the European Working Time Directive (ie is your rota compliant on paper, regardless of the hours you actually work? (Response options yes/no/not sure)).
- In this post, have you been asked to submit hours that are compliant with the European Working Time Directive, when the hours you actually work are NOT compliant? (Response options: Yes/No)
An explanation of the directive was given on the survey form.
UK wide results
A compliance indicator was calculated as follows:
- Trainees scored as compliant if they answered that their rostered hours were compliant and answered that they had not been asked to submit hours that are compliant when their actual hours aren’t (that is answering Yes and No respectively to the items above).
- Overall, across the whole of the UK, 81% of trainees felt their post was compliant with the directive (N = 28,854 - those answering “Not sure” and “No” respectively to the items above were excluded).
As Table 1 shows, trainees in the nine surgical specialties reported the lowest compliance with only 71%. Table 2 shows that F1 trainees are less likely than other trainees to report compliance with EWTD.
Table 1 Trainees' reported compliance with EWTD
| Specialty Group | Number | % |
| Public Health | 314 | 94% |
| General Practice | 2.779 | 93% |
| Pathology | 560 | 89% |
| Psychiatry | 2,309 | 87% |
| Anaesthetics | 2,893 | 85% |
| Radiology | 985 | 85% |
| Emergency Medicine | 1,516 | 85% |
| Paediatrics and Child Health | 2,444 | 85% |
| Ophthalmology | 444 | 82% |
| Medicine | 7,709 | 78% |
| Obstetrics and Gynaecology | 1,746 | 76% |
| Surgery | 5,002 | 71% |
Table 2 Trainees' reported compliance with EWTD
| Grade groups (higher/ lower varies by specialty) | Number | % |
| Higher | 12,458 | 85% |
| Lower | 7,229 | 84% |
| F2 | 3,150 | 79% |
| FTSTA | 2,770 | 76% |
| F1 | 2,730 | 68% |
Results for your trust
The results for your trust are available here >>>
This year's survey
The survey is being repeated during January and February 2009. Results from this year's survey will be available here from 11th May 2009:
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Working Time Directive 2009 
