Foundation doctors working at night: what training opportunities exist?

Foundation Training is designed for doctors in their first two years of post-graduation. The number of foundation doctors (FD) in the UK working nights has reduced because of a perception that clinical supervision at night is unsatisfactory and that minimal training opportunities exist. We aimed to assess the value of night shifts to FDs and hypothesised that removing FDs from nights may be detrimental to training.

Using a survey, we assessed the number of FDs working nights in London, FDs views on working nights and their supervision at night. We evaluated whether working at night, compared to daytime working provided opportunities to achieve foundation competencies.

83% (N = 2157/2593) of FDs completed the survey. Over 90% of FDs who worked nights felt that the experience they gained improved their ability to prioritise, make decisions and plan. FDs who worked nights reported higher scores for achieving competencies in history taking (2.67 vs. 2.51; p = 0.00), examination (2.72 vs. 2.59; p = 0.01) and resuscitation (2.27 vs. 1.96; p = 0.00). The majority (65%) felt adequately supervised.

Our survey has demonstrated that FDs find working nights a valuable experience, providing important training opportunities, which are additional to those encountered during daytime working.