• Transfusion · Jan 2014

    Assessing transfusion competency in junior doctors: a retrospective cohort study.

    • Jane Graham, John Grant-Casey, Robert Alston, Paul Baker, and Kate Pendry.
    • School of Medical Specialties, North Western Deanery, Manchester, UK; National Comparative Audit, NHSBT, Oxford, UK; School of Medicine, University of Manchester, Foundation School, North Western Deanery, Manchester, UK; NHSBT, Manchester & Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
    • Transfusion. 2014 Jan 1; 54 (1): 128-36.

    BackgroundThere is scope to further improve the safety of transfusion practice within the United Kingdom. This study aims to identify the current role of junior doctors in the transfusion process and to assess their competency to appropriately prescribe blood and blood products to patients.Study Design And MethodsTransfusion competency in junior doctors training in a single region was addressed through anonymized questionnaires assessing factual knowledge, personal reflection, and documented evidence of competency. Factual knowledge comprised 33 true-false questions (competency score) covering indications for transfusion, special requirements, risks of transfusion, and guidelines for testing in transfusion. Background data on current practice and education in transfusion medicine were addressed using multiple-choice and single-response questions.ResultsA total of 787 newly qualified doctors, comprising 79% of first-year (F1) and 62% of second-year (F2) Foundation doctors, completed the assessment over a 3-week period. There was no improvement in competency score between F1 and F2 doctors (p = 0.1). Competency scores correlated most strongly with undergraduate education in transfusion medicine and attendance at hospital induction (p < 0.01). Junior doctors had a high confidence level with regard to prescribing blood, although only 78% were aware they had been competency assessed against national standards.ConclusionJunior doctors are involved in sampling, prescribing, consenting, and documenting transfusion practice frequently enough to maintain competency. They are rarely involved in the collection, bedside checking, or administration of blood despite current curriculum requirements. There is scope to significantly improve both the training and the assessment of transfusion competency in doctors.© 2013 American Association of Blood Banks.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…

What will the 'Medical Journal of You' look like?

Start your free 21 day trial now.

We guarantee your privacy. Your email address will not be shared.