Core medical training needs “urgent” reform to drive up quality, says RCP

Abstract

Urgent changes are needed to improve the quality of core medical training (CMT), a report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB) has suggested. The report found that CMT trainees were spending too much time providing services and not enough time receiving training. It also raised concerns that trainees were often not able to attend outpatient clinics and training sessions, and that many did not receive enough feedback from senior colleagues. The RCP carried out a survey in June last year of junior doctors undertaking CMT, and received responses from 779 trainees. In a report on the survey, the RCP warned the findings suggested that, if CMT were not improved, recruitment to the programme would “continue to decrease” and it would become increasingly difficult to recruit to medical specialties.1 “Urgent changes must be made to improve the quality of training for CMT trainees who are the future consultants of our medical workforce,” the report said. In total, 91% of respondents to the survey said that they had spent 80% to 100% …