The most important factors in the willingness of doctors in post-graduate medical education to recommend their ­training places

Background The transition to competency based post-graduate medical education (PGME) highlights the importance of measuring the quality of PGME which has rarely been studied in Finland.

Methods The Finnish Junior Doctors’ Association and the Finnish Medical Association (FMA) conducted a survey among doctors in PGME in autumn 2019 and received 1668 replies (approximately one fourth of possible respondents). The survey included items on guidance, education, and working conditions after which respondents rated their willingness to recommend their training place. This study examined to what extent the educational factors explained the respondents’ willingness to recommend.

Results Two thirds (66.2%) of the willingness to recommend was explained by factors related to guidance and education. The most important factor was a workload that enables learning, followed by systematic education and supervision.

Conclusions This study shows that doctors in PGME emphasize the importance of educational factors in their willingness to recommend their training places.