Anatomy, radiology, and practical procedure education for foundation doctors in England: A National Observational Study

There are concerns regarding the anatomy knowledge amongst medical school graduates and foundation doctors. Clinical procedures performed without relevant anatomical knowledge could result in serious harm to patients. The aim of this quantitative study was to assess education provision in the domains of anatomy, radiology and practical procedures for foundation year doctors during their first two years of training (FY1, FY2). A national survey of acute hospital trusts in England was conducted. Each trust completed a proforma relating to education provision for foundation year doctors between 6/8/2014 and 4/8/2015. A total of 95/161 (59%) acute hospital trusts in England responded. The mean number of teaching hours/year was 55.6±19.0 for FY1 and 57.3±30.4 hours/year for FY2. Anatomy education was provided in eight trusts with a mean of 2.3±1.0 hours/year for FY1 and 2.7±2.0 hours/year for FY2. The mean provision of practical procedure education was 2.2±1.3 hours/year for FY1 and 2.7±4.4 hours/year for FY2. The mean provision of radiology education was 10.5±18.7 hours/year for FY1 and 7.8±14.2 hours/year for FY2. Reasons for the lack of teaching included: lack of time, facilities, teaching staff, financial resources and absence of specific educational domains in the foundation curriculum. Medical education provision for foundation doctors is highly variable. There are wide discrepancies in postgraduate anatomy education, procedural skill training and radiology education between hospital trusts. Clin. Anat. 29:982–990, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.