Clinical audits by trainee doctors: obstacles and solutions

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate trainee doctors' experience of clinical audits and to explore solutions for identified problems.Design/methodology/approachPsychiatry trainees from all the deaneries in the UK were invited to participate in a semi‐qualitative online survey. It focused on estimating the quantity and quality of the clinical audits done by the trainees, exploring their experience and possible solutions for identified problems. Descriptive statistics and framework analysis were used to analyse the data.FindingsA total of 2,267 audits were carried out by 504 respondents. Of the respondents, 42 per cent completed at least one audit‐cycle. Nearly half of the audits were presented locally and 37 per cent were submitted to the local audit departments. Recommendations from two‐thirds of all the audits went unnoticed because of inadequate dissemination and implementation. Suggestions for improvement included: formal training, participation by non‐medical colleagues, emphasis on quality of audits rather than quantity, and better co‐ordination by audit departments.Practical implicationsTrainees identify that local audits do not result in service improvement. Suggested changes may lead to improved effectiveness of the local clinical audit programmes.Originality/valueAudit activities by the trainee doctors lay the foundation of their involvement in clinical governance later on. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to capture the clinical audit activities by the trainee doctors at the national level in the UK.