Class half-empty? Pre-registration house officer attendance at weekly teaching sessions: implications for delivering the new Foundation Programme curriculum

Abstract

This study aimed to explore patterns of attendance at classroom-based, taught education programmes for pre-registration house officers (PRHOs) and to identify reasons for non-attendance, and to consider implications for Foundation Programme curriculum delivery and suggest strategies for improving delivery. We analysed registers of attendance for education sessions for 3 local teaching hospitals in the Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland (LNR) Healthcare Workforce Deanery, along with PRHO exit questionnaire returns (from 2001 to 2005). Despite a trend for attendance to fall slightly over the course of a rotation, attendance rates have, in general, remained relatively stable at around two-thirds. However, during most 4-month posts, a fifth or more of PRHOs missed half or more of all sessions. Two types of barrier to attendance were identified: 'routine barriers', which relate to hospital working patterns, and 'contextual barriers', which refer to the particularities of each hospital post. There was no evidence that doctors' motivation and commitment towards the education programme is a main determinant of attendance. Contextual barriers to attendance, such as pressure being placed on PRHOs to remain on the ward, can be addressed. However, routine barriers to attendance, including on-call working patterns and annual leave, render it impossible to avoid significant numbers of education sessions being missed by PRHOs in each post during a rotation. En bloc teaching of basic generic skills prior to the start of the rotation plus greater use of online learning resources are examples of ways in which reliance on in-post, classroom-based programmes can be reduced.