The Effectiveness of a Specific Foundation Year 1 Induction Programme in Improving Confidence for Newly Qualified Doctors in the UK

Background Despite the completion of 5 or 6 years of undergraduate study, the transition to a newly qualified foundation year 1 doctor (FY1) in the UK has been recognised as challenging. We created a specific FY1 Induction Programme and aimed to evaluate its effectiveness on perceived confidence and preparedness for newly qualified doctors by assessing their responses to surveys before and after the delivery of the course. Methods Pre- and post-course surveys were administered at the start and end of the course, respectively. All questions were subjective and used a 5-point Likert scale (1, not at all confident, to 5, definitely confident) to assess perceived confidence in a range of questions before and after the course. Results A total of 35 participants completed the pre-course survey and 41 completed the post-course survey. For all questions, there was a statistically significant increase in confidence ratings. All 41 participants completing the post-course questionnaire responded 'yes' to feeling more confident to be an FY1 after completing the programme compared to before (100%). Conclusions Our study, along with previously published work, has shown a repeatable positive effect with implementation of transition courses for newly qualified doctors. Future research in this area could focus on more large-scale standardised learning events incorporated by different trusts prior to commencement as an FY1, to see if the positive effects found in our study are translatable across other regions.

Automated summary

This study aims to investigate the impact of a specific training program on the confidence and preparedness of newly qualified doctors. Results from pre- and post-course surveys show a statistically significant increase in confidence ratings across all questions. The study suggests that implementation of transition courses can have a positive effect on newly qualified doctors.