Burns teaching in UK medical schools: Is it enough?

Burns are frequently seen and managed in non-specialist settings. The crowding of the UK medical undergraduate curriculum may have resulted in the reduction of teaching on burns.

To determine the burns education experience and the level of competence among UK final year medical students in assessing and acutely managing patients with burns.

An online questionnaire was circulated among UK final year medical students.

There was a total of 348 respondents. The majority of the respondents (70%) have not received any specific teaching on how to manage patients with burns. Nearly two-thirds of the students (66%) have never seen a patient being managed for burns throughout their training. Over 90% of respondents stated that they would not feel confident in initially managing a burn in the emergency department. The majority of the respondents (57%) have not heard of the criteria for referring a burns patient for further specialist management. There was almost universal agreement about the importance of knowing how to manage a burn initially.

There seems to be a lack of consistent undergraduate training in burns management and final year students lack the experience and knowledge to initially manage burns.