Orthopedic Trainees’ Perceptions of the Educational Value of Daily Trauma Meetings

Abstract

The daily orthopedic trauma meeting is considered to serve a dual purpose; a way of discussing management of trauma patients and as a forum for teaching trainees. This study is first to explore orthopedic trainees' perspectives on the educational value of trauma meetings and identify factors that influence educational benefit across England. An online questionnaire was created including free text responses questions. After initial pilot testing, orthopedic registrar trainees with a national training number within England were emailed and the questionnaire completed online. Results were analyzed using thematic analysis and online survey software. A national study conducted across England in trauma and orthopedic departments in a secondary care setting. One hundred and thirteen responses were recorded nationally with wide spread of seniority and geographical location. About 73.5 % of trainees found the trauma meeting to be educationally valuable. However, only 30.1% of trainees felt that they were "often" asked questions that aided their learning and 60.1% of trainees felt that decision making in patient management was only explained "sometimes" in the trauma meeting. Positive perceived educational themes included the volume of cases discussed, constructive questioning, and discussion as a form of learning. Negative themes involved time pressures, adverse consultant attitudes, and an aggressive trauma meeting atmosphere limiting learning. Suggested improvements include clearer explanation of decision making, detailed feedback, and a more supportive atmosphere with incorporation of postoperative radiographic review. This is the first nationwide study providing an insight into factors influencing the educational value of the trauma meeting as perceived by trainees with improvements being directly sourced from trainees. Recommendations from this study are applicable internationally and guide the implementation of changes to maximize the educational benefit for trainees during trauma meetings.