One in five trainee doctors ‘may need mental health support’

Twenty per cent of doctors training for senior posts may be in need of support for mental health issues, a survey by the Medical Council has found.

Trainees who reported experiencing bullying and those who worked longer hours were more likely to have poorer health and wellbeing.

Some 29 per cent of trainees felt they need to access support services for their health and wellbeing but the vast majority didn’t actually do so, according to the survey.

The report by the Medical Council says a small but significant minority of trainees are clearly struggling to maintain good quality of life and mental health and wellbeing.

Almost 20 per cent of trainees described their quality of life as poor; those in bigger teaching hospitals were more likely to report an inferior quality of life.

The report says hospitals appear to present particular challenges to maintaining good health and wellbeing.

“This report finds a strong, significant and consistent link between the experience of bullying and undermining and poorer health and wellbeing among trainees,” it says.

It says there is a role for training organisations to ensure self-awareness and self-care are fostered to help trainees maintain good health and wellbeing. “But a wider response involving policy-makers and healthcare organisations is required to ensure that the clinical environments where trainees work and learn are designed and managed to prevent unnecessary challenges for trainee health and wellbeing so problems are prevented,” it says.

CarolineSpillane, chief executive of the Medical Council, said: “Doctors in training need support to maintain good health and wellbeing in the interest of patient care through building awareness of these issues and skills for appropriate self-care into medical education and training curricula.

“There is ample evidence to show that doctors with good health provide safer and more effective care to patients, are more engaged in their work, have better attendance, and are less likely to experience burnout and compassion fatigue.”

More than 1,600 medical interns and specialist trainees contributed to the survey.

View here on Irish Times

INMO survey finds rise in bullying of nurses and midwives

A large-scale survey of more than 2,000 nurses and midwives in Ireland suggests 6% of respondents are being bullied on a daily basis.

The last survey on the incidence of workplace among nurses and midwives was carried out in 2010 and according to this latest study the problem has worsened significantly since then.

The survey of 2,400 members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation found that almost 6% of respondents reported being bullied on an almost daily basis. 

View results of survey here

Of that 6%, non-union members were almost twice as likely to experience bullying.

Furthermore there had been an increase of over 13% in the perceived incidences of bullying since 2010.

The INMO has claimed that Government cutbacks are the most probable explanation and is seeking an early engagement with employers on the issue.

The organisation has also accused the Health Service Executive and private sector employers of not taking reports of bullying seriously enough.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Director of Industrial Relations at the INMO Phil O'Shea said the survey found Government cutbacks had increased the incident of workplace bullying among nurses and midwives.

Ms O'Shea said employers need to take the issue more seriously.

Ms O'Shea went on to say that by the time reports of bullying reach the stage of formal investigation many of these workplace relationships have broken down irretrievably.

The INMO will outline the results of the Survey today at INMO Buildings
View more here

Medical Council National Trainee Experience Survey:

BULLYING and undermining of trainee doctors in Ireland is endemic - and more than twice as bad as in the UK, a major report reveals.

Senior consultants are the biggest culprits, but the junior doctors also complain of bullying by patients and the public, the first nationwide survey of trainees by the Medical Council revealed.
It is worst in hospitals and is less of a problem in mental health services, while it happens least among junior medics training to be GPs.

Three-out-of-10 trainees reported being bullied and undermined. Interns who are fresh out of medical school suffer most, and the problem reduces among older trainees. View report here.

The findings come as Health Minister Leo Varadkar has pledged to improve the teaching and work environment for junior doctors in a bid to persuade more of them to stay in Irish hospitals.

Asked to comment on why so many senior specialists are accused of bullying, Freddie Wood, the president of the Medical Council said the environment in the health service is now "much more hostile than it was" for doctors.

He cited overcrowding, waiting lists as well as pressure to meet targets, litigation and patient expectations as adding to the stress."With the downturn in the economy many doctors are in negative equity and that all adds up to poor well-being. If you are a busy consultant surgeon and you have 40 patients to see, you will have only got to where you are through diligence and perfectionism. The people who get to that level are perfectionists and they demand the same as everybody else," said Mr Wood, a retired heart surgeon.

"Like a lot of things it needs to be talked about. This report gives us a definite basis to say to consultants that they need to be aware of it and do something about it."

Key weaknesses revealed by the report included:
* 30pc of trainees said they received no explanation of their role and responsibilities;
* Three-in-10 interns felt medical school did not prepare them for hospital training. This is two to three times higher than in the UK;
* Basics such as educational supervision and matching responsibility with the young doctor's competence were also found wanting. Concerns also emerged about the safety practices when one team of doctor hands over a patient to another;
* Interns and doctors on basic specialist training also reported the worst experiences of indication and orientation.

The report said the impact on patient safety cannot be overlooked and the training setting must be a better place to learn, work and care for patients.

Mr. Varadkar, who launched the report, talked about when he graduated as a doctor in 2003.
"My general impression as a trainee was very good, particularly in the GP training scheme I felt well supported by trainers."

However he said the same was not the case during his time as a hospital doctor.
View more here

Study on Bullying of Nurses and Midwives in the Workplace

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has teamed up with NUI Galway and the National College of Ireland to undertake a study on bullying of nurses and midwives in the workplace which will be launched in INMO HQ in Dublin at 11am tomorrow, Thursday, 29 May.

The INMO conducted a survey of its members in 1993 which sought to review the extent to which bullying in the workplace was affecting their working life. This led to an INMO policy on bullying and eventually the HSE policy on bullying and harassment being negotiated. Within the Irish Public health care system, bullying in the workplace should be addressed through the HSE’s ‘Dignity at Work Policy’ which came into operation on 1 May 2004.

 Yet academic and practitioner evidence suggests that nurses and midwives working in Ireland continue to frequently experience workplace bullying. This is reported as having very negative consequences for nurses and midwives’ personal health and personal and family relationships. It also adds to already high levels of stress experienced by members working within the Irish health care system. 

At the INMO’s recent Annual Conference in Kilkenny there was a motion put forward to repeat this study and the Organisation has partnered with NUI Galway and the National College of Ireland to conduct a survey on current levels of workplace bullying experienced by its members. Critically, the survey is seeking nurses/midwives’ input on how bullying can be reduced and what support is needed if they experience or witness bullying in their workplaces. 

The survey will be available on the INMO’s website www.inmo.ie until 1 July 2014. Input from nurses and midwives is critical to the success of this study which is completely anonymous.

The study is headed by Professor Maura Sheehan at NUI Galway who has published widely on issues of workplace discrimination and injustice

The survey will take about ten minutes to complete online at www.inmo.ie (from 29th May '14) and the evaluation and results of the survey will be available to the INMO in October 2014.

View full Press Release here