Survey of knowledge of simple pulmonary function tests (PFTs) amongst trainee doctors in England

The understanding of and interpretation skills for simple pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are increasingly required in the everyday practice of medicine. This knowledge was evaluated amongst the trainee hospital doctors in the north-east of England. Three-hundred questionnaire sets were sent in the post to the relevant junior doctors working in the north-east of England and sixty-nine completed sets were returned: a raw response rate of 23% and a corrected response rate of 27%. There were deficits in knowledge and confidence in most tests except for those which were most commonly used, and this was noted across the different grades of junior doctors. The respondents were aware of the deficiency and most would like further teaching and input during their hospital career. An appropriate plan for improvement should be formulated and implemented.