PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jessica Pearce
AU  - Sameet Govan
AU  - Anna Harlinska
AU  - Rebecca Tremain
AU  - Sareena Gajebasia
AU  - Melody Redman
TI  - Workforce: Newly graduated doctors’ experiences of conducting medical ward rounds alone: A regional cross-sectional study
AID  - 10.7861/futurehosp.6-1-47
DP  - 2019 Feb 01
TA  - Future Healthcare Journal
PG  - 47--51
VI  - 6
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/6/1/47.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/6/1/47.full
SO  - Future Healthc J2019 Feb 01; 6
AB  - Newly graduated doctors may be expected to conduct ward rounds alone, yet studies exploring this are limited. A regional cross-sectional study was undertaken to explore foundation year 1 doctors’ (FY1s) experiences of conducting ward rounds alone; all 289 FY1s on medical rotations in Yorkshire and the Humber Foundation School were invited to participate in an online survey in November 2016. Thirty-four percent (n=98) responded. The majority (62%, n=61) of respondents reported conducting the daily ward round alone (without a more senior doctor present) two or more times a week. However, 56% (n=55) reported that they had never received teaching on ward round conduct and only 7% (n=7) reported feeling prepared for conducting ward rounds alone at the start of their medical rotation. FY1-led ward rounds are a regular occurrence yet training is not commonplace; widespread, early training should be considered to prepare future doctors for their role.