Abstract
Introduction: The Foundation Programme was implemented across the United Kingdom in 2005 and aims to “bridge the gap between medical school and specialty/general practice training.” Musculoskeletal complaints are the single most common reason for patients seeking medical attention and it is imperative that all clinicians should have at least a basic competency in musculoskeletal medicine.
Aim: To determine if Foundation Programmes give junior doctors sufficient training to deal competently with musculoskeletal complaints.
Methods: We prospectively enrolled junior doctors at the completion of their Foundation Programme. They were assessed using the Freedman and Bernstein musculoskeletal examination tool- the only validated method of assessing musculoskeletal medicine knowledge currently available. Passing this test only implies a basic level of competence in musculoskeletal medicine.
Results: We recruited 112 junior doctors from across the United Kingdom. Only 8.9% of those recruited passed the assessment. Significantly higher mean scores were obtained by those with Foundation Programme exposure to Orthopaedics- 62% vs. 51.6% (p=0.005), an interest in Orthopaedics as a career- 64.8% vs. 52.8% (p=0.026) and those who felt that they had gained adequate Foundation Programme exposure to musculoskeletal medicine- 64% vs. 51.6% (p=0.0014). Those who were interested in General Practice obtained significantly lower scores than the rest of the group- 48.4% vs. 55.6% (p=0.009).
Orthopaedics, internal medicine and general practice were the future specialty interest of 6%, 29% and 36% respectively. Only 15% had any Foundation Programme exposure to Orthopaedics and only 13% felt they had been given adequate exposure to musculoskeletal medicine.
Conclusions: Foundation Programmes are currently failing to ensure junior doctors entering specialty training have a basic competence in musculoskeletal medicine. Given the high prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions encountered by most clinicians this is unacceptable and steps must be taken to improve the quality of Foundation Programme training in musculoskeletal medicine.
The abstracts were prepared by Mr Matt Costa and Mr Ben Ollivere. Correspondence should be addressed to Mr Costa at Clinical Sciences Research Institute, University of Warwick, Clifford Bridge Road, Coventry CV2 2DX, UK.
