Experience and Well-being of Trainees in a Rural Mental Health Trust

AIMS: Trainee doctors may find it difficult to express their thoughts and feelings concerning their workplace experience. It is important to gain feedback on their experiences allowing potential issues to be addressed and rectified. Identifying and managing concerns at an early stage with the provision of support may have a positive impact on trainee well-being and workforce retention in the future. This project aims to survey trainee doctors working in a rural mental health trust (Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust - LPFT) on aspects relating to their experience, well-being and effect of rurality. This may allow greater insight into issues affecting trainees and allow improvements to be made. METHODS: An electronic survey, created on the website SurveyMonkey, was distributed to 43 trainee doctors within the LPFT. This sample represented all the trainees on placements in Lincolnshire. RESULTS: Twenty-three out of forty-three trainee doctors (53.49%) submitted responses. Analysis of responses showed some common themes of trainees reporting on supportive workplace supervisors and good relationships with staff in general. Other key findings highlighted those living a greater distance from their workplace found longer commutes difficult, especially if there was reliance on public transport. This had a significant impact on stress levels and well-being. Some trainees reported feelings of loneliness, conversely, other trainees felt fulfilled and settled in their current training programme. CONCLUSION: This survey identified both positive and negative factors affecting the experience and well-being of trainees. Despite some long commutes, isolation from family and friends and other stressors (exams, fuel costs), positive factors were recognised. This included good supervisor support and relationships. Overall, 78.26% of trainees reported they felt the benefits of their training in the LPFT outweighed the drawbacks. However, it is important to recognise these conclusions are drawn from trainees responding to the survey and are not necessarily fully representative of all trainees’ perspectives.