Role of the general medical registrar in performing out-of-hours pleural procedures: a UK national survey of trainee and trainer perspectives.
UK General Internal Medicine (GIM) registrars are traditionally expected to be able to perform pleural procedures out-of-hours (OOH) if required. Pleural exposure for GIM registrars has declined, with procedures increasingly performed by specialists in-hours. Pleural procedures can cause significant harm. We explored the role of the GIM registrar in performing OOH pleural procedures, with particular focus on competence and confidence.
An anonymous survey was distributed to GIM registrars and respiratory consultants across the UK.
Responses were received from 391 non-respiratory GIM registrars and 93 respiratory consultants. 37% of registrars reported being 'signed-off' as independent in chest drain insertion for pneumothorax. 69% had not done a pleural procedure for at least a year. Regarding perceived confidence for OOH chest drain insertion for pneumothorax, 42% reported no confidence to perform the procedure even if directly supervised, with only 11% feeling confident to proceed unsupervised. Consultants rated the pleural competence of an average non-respiratory GIM registrar; only 4% felt they could perform the procedure unsupervised. Common themes in the free text included anxiety surrounding pleural procedures, patient safety concerns, insufficient available training opportunities to maintain competency and differing opinions on the evolving role of the medical registrar and who should be expected to perform OOH pleural procedures.
The majority of UK GIM registrars are neither confident nor perceived by trainers as competent to independently perform OOH chest drain insertion. This has implications for patient safety and service delivery, informing broader discussions regarding GIM training, curriculum and the need to establish local OOH pleural pathways.
An anonymous survey was distributed to GIM registrars and respiratory consultants across the UK.
Responses were received from 391 non-respiratory GIM registrars and 93 respiratory consultants. 37% of registrars reported being 'signed-off' as independent in chest drain insertion for pneumothorax. 69% had not done a pleural procedure for at least a year. Regarding perceived confidence for OOH chest drain insertion for pneumothorax, 42% reported no confidence to perform the procedure even if directly supervised, with only 11% feeling confident to proceed unsupervised. Consultants rated the pleural competence of an average non-respiratory GIM registrar; only 4% felt they could perform the procedure unsupervised. Common themes in the free text included anxiety surrounding pleural procedures, patient safety concerns, insufficient available training opportunities to maintain competency and differing opinions on the evolving role of the medical registrar and who should be expected to perform OOH pleural procedures.
The majority of UK GIM registrars are neither confident nor perceived by trainers as competent to independently perform OOH chest drain insertion. This has implications for patient safety and service delivery, informing broader discussions regarding GIM training, curriculum and the need to establish local OOH pleural pathways.
Authors
Jajbhay Jajbhay, Aujayeb Aujayeb, Denniston Denniston, Juniper Juniper, Liang Liang, Shotton Shotton, Zhang Zhang, Kadwani Kadwani
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