[Manual for "Junior Doctors" in medical oncology]

[Last year of residency for oncologists: Overview and perspectives]

CONTEXT

The reform of the third cycle of medical studies in France has introduced of the "Junior Doctor" status during the concluding year of residency. We wish to evaluate its implementation for the first promotion of medical oncology residents during 2021-2022 in correlation with the published guidelines.

METHOD

AERIO conducted a cross-sectional study among French medical oncology residents. The survey was released via social networks and emails.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight of 47 residents responded. The typical week involved one to two half-days of consultation, one dedicated to clinical research, one multidisciplinary team meetings, with the rest of time being occupied by day care (mostly) and hospitalization. Teaching and quality management activities were infrequent (monthly or less). The Junior Doctors rated their overall satisfaction at 8/10. A large majority (92.5 %) felt equipped to handle most of the situations they encountered. Almost all residents (92.9 %) had negotiated with their placement supervisor prior to the selection procedure. In one third of the cases (35.7 %), the principle of mismatch between the number of residents and the number of training sites was not respected. Only 42.9 % received training in scientific writing and 82.2 % of the residents agreed on the relevance of the post-internship training modules developed in other specialties.

CONCLUSIONS

Junior doctors in medical oncology express overall satisfaction with this reform, which aligns with the recommendations. Nevertheless, certain concerns, such as selection procedure and inadequacy, along with areas requiring improvement, such as post-internship training and scientific writing, are clearly established.

[First junior doctors: State of play one year after the implementation of the consolidation phase within the diploma of specialized studies in internal medicine and clinical immunology]

INTRODUCTION

The 2017 reform of the 3rd cycle of medical studies introduced the concept of supervised autonomy with the creation of a new junior doctor (JD) status. The aim of this work was to interview the first class of JDs in internal medicine and clinical immunology (IMCI) regarding the progress and implementation of this final year of internship.

METHODS

The IMCI JDs were invited to complete an anonymous online survey, contacted by email and social networks.

RESULTS

The questionnaire received 36 responses out of an estimated fifty JDs. The majority of JDs spent more than 70% of their time on conventional hospitalisation and less than 20% on scheduled hospitalisation. Most of them would have preferred to do more consultations and provide expert counsels. Weekly working hours were not respected for the majority of JDs. Personal education and academic formation were not respected for 77.8% of JDs. Overall, 75% were satisfied with their empowerment and 88.6% felt that the transition to post residency would be easier with the consolidation phase. A third reported that their residency had confirmed their apprehension about practising as an internist, and even that this apprehension might call into question their future practice.

CONCLUSION

This survey is an initial assessment of the implementation of the JD year in the IMCI residency. A collective effort around this last year of internship seems to be essential to ensure the personal and professional development of young internists.

["Junior Doctor" in Plastic Surgery, a new status. Evaluation of the practices after one semester of application of the reform]

INTRODUCTION

The reform of the third cycle of medical studies in 2017 led to the creation of the status of "Junior Doctor", corresponding to the consolidation phase and allowing increasing autonomy and supervision from the intern. In plastic surgery, this status appeared for the first time in November 2021 in French hospitals; it lasts two years and succeeds the first four years of internship.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We sent a self-questionnaire by email in May 2022 to the 21 French Junior Doctors. This was interested in their training ground, formation program, consultation activity, operating program, integration into the on-call list, the existence of half-days of availability, and their general opinion on this reform and its implementation.

RESULTS

We collected 20 questionnaires with a sex ratio of twelve men for eight women. The majority of respondents worked in a university hospital (85 %). 45 % had their consultations, 60 % had their own operating sessions under general anesthesia, and 35 % under local anesthesia. Only 25 % of them considered this reform to be a step forward in terms of training.

CONCLUSION

The introduction of the status of Junior Doctor is contrasted within the various hospitals. Despite the progressive and supervised autonomy provided by this reform, it is generally perceived neutrally or negatively by Junior Doctors. The establishment of own consultations and operating sessions stands out as a key positive element allowing better application of the reform.