In March 2013, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) released its report titled the “2012 AMA Junior Doctor Training, Education and Supervision Survey”. The survey took responses from junior doctors working in public hospitals across Australia from 18th June to 20th July 2012. There were 1,112 responses from interns, resident medical officers, registrars and fellows.

The survey showed that junior doctors think hospitals perform at or above expectations in areas including providing regular clinical meetings, access to educational and information resources, adequate clinical supervision, and rights of review for supervisor assessments and reports.

Less than 20% of junior doctors surveyed felt that the hospital supported part-time/flexible working hours to assist with training and study. Significantly, 59% of respondents thought their hospital did not allocate enough time for research activities, and only 18% thought that their hospital has processes to develop the research skills of interested junior doctors.

So, where to from here?

The AMA is calling for a number of changes to the training program, including the improved provision for flexible working hours and the development of a clinical academic pathway for those interested in becoming a clinical academic. The AMA has also called for the development of the role of junior doctors as trainers (for example to medical students), and a framework for measuring the quality of medical training.