The current status of senior house officer postgraduate education in a single region

Objective To assess postgraduate education (PGE) for paediatric senior hous e officers (SHOs) in a single region. Methods A survey of all paediatric SHOs in the region was undertaken in the form of a questionnaire and telephone contact. The standard set by the Com mittee of Postgraduate Medical Deans for SHO education formed the basis for the questionnaire; there should be (i) a designated educational supervisor for each SHO, (ii) regular work appraisal and counselling and (iii) 4 h pr otected teaching per week. Supplementary questions were asked regarding met hods of teaching and study leave. Results There was a 92% response rate from SHOs and 90% of SHOs contacted h ad a named educational supervisor. The mean time for protected teaching per week was 2.14 h, although this varied widely between centres. There were m any different teaching methods used and 82% of SHOs had no difficulty in ob taining study leave. There was a particular problem for those who were work ing shifts or cross-covering. Conclusions Our study has shown that paediatric SHOs in Wales are reasonabl y satisfied with their postgraduate education, although there is considerab le variation between different units. Several areas have been highlighted w hich need to be improved if we are to provide SHOs with adequate preparatio n for the specialist registrar training grade.