Out-of-hours task allocation: implications for foundation training and practice

The role of foundation year-1 (FY1) doctors during the out-of-hours (OOHs) period was explored, identifying areas to improve their training.

Data were retrospectively collected for 1 year of foundation training (2018-2019) from an electronic task system between 17:00 to 08:00, Monday to Sunday, in a 798-bed teaching hospital in Exeter, UK.

Thirty-two thousand, two hundred and sixty OOHs jobs were requested with 21,816 (67.6%) assigned to FY1 doctors and the clinical site practitioner. Jobs were distributed with 12,044 (55.2%) for FY1 medicine, 5,739 (26.3%) for FY1 surgery and 4,033 (18.5%) for the clinical site practitioner. The three most common jobs requested were prescribing (31.1%), patient reviews (17.9%), and interpreting or taking bloods (11.6%). Procedural jobs accounted for 22.2% of all jobs. Prescribing and patient review jobs were further categorised into commonly encountered themes.

This study describes the nature of jobs performed by FY1 doctors working OOHs and identifies three areas to focus foundation doctor training. First, improving the preparedness of new graduates as guided by commonly identified jobs. Second, monitoring the appropriateness of performed jobs. Third, ensuring the evolving roles of allied health professionals and foundation doctors are clearly understood in relation to one another.