The evaluation of a period of extended shadowing for foundation year one doctors at induction and mentorship schemes at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Emily Bliss; Huma Naqvi

doi:10.7861/fhj.9-2-s58

Background

The 2020/21 cohort of foundation year-1 (FY1) doctors were offered interim foundation year-1 (FiY1) placements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These FiY1 doctors started in June 2020 (2 months ahead of their initial scheduled start date) and a buddy scheme pairing FiY1s and current FY1 doctors was established. FY1 doctors were paired up with FiY1s in the same specialty in which they were due to start in August or a closely allied specialty. Feedback from the scheme was overwhelmingly positive¹ so we wanted to apply those modifications to the 2021/22 cohort.

Methods

This intake of prospective FY1 doctors starting in August 2021 were invited to start a week earlier than usual for a period of extended shadowing. As we did the previous year, we assigned individual FY1 buddies for the regular and extended shadowing periods. In addition to that, we assigned SHO mentors who would be on the same site or specialty as the new FY1s from August and a near peer group for the year, which was made up of the three FY1s and three FY2s on the same rotational tract as each other. Surveys were used to evaluate the benefit of shadowing and mentorship.

Results

Thirty-one of the 66 new FY1s replied to the initial survey, 85% of those felt that the shadowing period prepared them well for starting as FY1 doctors (Fig 1). 100% of those opting for the extended shadowing period were happy with their choice compared with 85% of those opting for compulsory shadowing only (Fig 2). At the beginning of the first placement in August, 75% of new FY1 doctors felt comfortable to contact one of their mentors as needed.

Fig 1.

Answers to the question: ‘I felt that the shadowing period prepared me well for my FY1 job’, answer option: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree or strongly disagree.

Fig 2.

Answers to the question: ‘I am glad that I opted to do the extended period of shadowing’, answer options: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree or strongly disagree.

Key message

A shadowing placement for new FY1 doctors in the same trust and specialty in which they are due to start is effective in preparing and giving new FY1 doctors confidence ahead of starting their jobs in August. Optimising mentorship schemes is challenging. By assigning and offering a variety of mentors to the new FY1 doctors we encouraged them to utilise their mentors according to personal preference.

Reference

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1. Pailing A
, Marsland H, Naqvi H. Establishing a standalone mentorship scheme for newly graduated FYi1s during the COVID-19 pandemic: feedback and experiences. Poster presentation at the BMJ leaders in healthcare conference, November 2020.