Briefing

Hospital induction training programmes are important and valued by junior doctors, but the most common model - a day of didactic presentations in the first week of the job - may not be the best model. A study asked junior doctors how they preferred to receive induction information, and ranked which topics they preferred to know about first (Postgrad Med J 1999;75:346-50). The top five priority topics that needed to be taught in the first week were dealing with bleeps and switchboard, housekeeping, test ordering, acute admissions, and picking up oneÑs photo ID badge. The authors argue that much of the additional information that new doctors need to know is best presented in writing, and that the desire of postgraduate tutors to expound educational schema and encourage the development of generic skills may not necessarily be congruent with those of trainees in the first few weeks of a job.