Sample frame and survey response rate
A total of 106 residents were posted to MET over 3 years. The study survey was distributed to all residents who have completed the MET rotation, of which 66 submitted their responses (response rate 62.3%).
Demographics of residents
Out of the 66 respondents, 24 (36.4%) were junior residents and 42 (63.6%) were registrars or senior residents; 15.2% of the respondents were in postgraduate years 1 to 3, 39.4% postgraduate years 4 to 6, and 45.5% were in postgraduate years 7 or more. Of the 66 respondents, 60.6% were female(Table 1).
[Table 1 can be found in Tables Section]
General questions related to the MET posting overall
More than 90% of residents agreed or strongly agreed that MET contributed positively to patient care and their training (Table 2).
[Table 2 can be found in Tables Section]
Questions related to patient care and procedural skills
Eighty two percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that MET improved their clinical judgement in medical emergencies, and 70% thought that it improved their procedural skills (Table 3).
Table 3
Survey questions and responses in patient care and procedural skills, as well as medical knowledge
SURVEY QUESTIONS | SD | D | N | A | SA | MEDIAN (IQR) |
PATIENT CARE & PROCEDURAL SKILLS | | | | | | |
THE POSTING IN MET IMPROVED MY CLINICAL JUDGEMENT IN MEDICAL EMERGENCIES N = 61 N(%) | 1 (1.6) | 1 (1.6) | 9 (14.8) | 26 (42.6) | 24 (39.3) | 4 (4–5) |
THE POSTING IMPROVED MY PROCEDURAL SKILLS EG INTUBATION, CENTRAL VENOUS PRESSURE LINE SETTING, INTRA-ARTERIAL LINE SETTING N = 61 N(%) | 1 (1.6) | 3 (4.9) | 14 (23.0) | 21 (34.4) | 22 (36.0) | 4 (3–5) |
I FEEL THAT MET POSTING HAS DECREASED CLINICAL AUTONOMY OF THE PRIMARY TEAM N = 61 N(%) | 7 (11.5) | 16 (26.2) | 22 (36.0) | 14 (23.0) | 2 (3.3) | 3 (2–4) |
MET ACTIVATIONS INVOLVED COMPLEX MEDICAL EMERGENCIES THAT FREQUENTLY REQUIRED MY SUPERVISOR'S INTERVENTION N = 61 N(%) | 2 (3.3) | 17 (27.9) | 30 (49.2) | 10 (16.4) | 3 (4.9) | 3 (2–3) |
MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE | | | | | | |
I DO NOT FEEL THAT I AM EQUIPPED TO RESOLVE DISPUTES AMONG CLINICIANS THAT AROSE DURING MET ACTIVATIONS N = 59 N(%) | 1 (1.7) | 23 (39.0) | 24 (40.7) | 9 (15.3) | 2 (3.4) | 3 (2–3) |
I FEEL THAT WE NEED A HAVE FORMAL TRAINING BEFORE MET POSTING AND A FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT DURING/AFTER MET POSTING N = 59 N(%) | 4 (6.8) | 19 (32.2) | 16 (27.1) | 19 (32.2) | 1 (1.7) | 3 (2–4) |
MET POSTING HAS EXPOSED ME TO A WIDE VARIETY OF CLINICAL CASES. N = 59 N(%) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.7) | 8 (13.6) | 33 (55.9) | 17 (28.8) | 4 (4–5) |
SD = strongly disagree, D = disagree, N = neutral, A = agree, SA = strongly agree |
Questions relating to clinical autonomy of the primary team and involvement of clinical supervisors were more varied and 37% strongly disagreed or disagreed that MET has decreased clinical autonomy of primary team (Table 3).
Questions related to medical knowledge
Almost 85% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that MET exposed them to a wide variety of clinical cases (Table 3).
There was varied level of agreement in relation to the need for formal training and assessment in relation to the MET posting, with approximately one third agreeing, one third neutral and one third disagreeing with this question (Table 3).
Questions related to practice-based learning and improvement
86% agreed or strongly agreed that the MET posting helped them achieve their learning goals (Table 4).
Table 4
Survey questions and responses in Practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills,professionalism.
SURVEY QUESTIONS | SD | D | N | A | SA | Median (IQR) |
PRACTICE-BASED LEARNING & IMPROVEMENT | | | | | | |
I WAS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH MET ACTIVATIONS AS IT EXPOSED MY WEAKNESSES. N = 59 N(%) | 11 (18.6) | 32 (54.2) | 12 (20.3) | 4 (6.8) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (2–3) |
THE MET POSTING HELPED ME ACHIEVE MY LEARNING GOALS. N = 59 N(%) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.7) | 7 (11.9) | 35 (59.3) | 16 (27.1) | 4 (4–5) |
I WAS ABLE TO ASSUME A TEACHING ROLE DURING THE MET POSTING. N = 59 N(%) | 2 (3.4) | 15 (25.4) | 24 (40.7) | 16 (27.1) | 2 (3.4) | 3 (2–4) |
INTERPERSONAL & COMMUNICATION SKILLS | | | | | | |
I TEND TO HAVE DIFFERING OPINIONS FROM THE RESPIRATORY THERAPISTS IN THE TEAM ESPECIALLY REGARDING NON-INVASIVE VENTILATION. N = 59 N(%) | 13 (22.0) | 37 (62.7) | 8 (13.6) | 1 (1.7) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (2–2) |
THROUGH THE MET POSTING, I LEARNT TO COMMUNICATE WITH FAMILY PARTICULARLY REGARDING END OF LIFE ISSUES N = 59 N(%) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (6.8) | 14 (23.7) | 31 (52.5) | 10 (16.9) | 4 (3–4) |
PROFESSIONALISM | | | | | | |
MET EXPOSED ME TO VARIOUS PATIENT POPULATIONS SUCH AS MEDICAL PATIENTS WITH ACUTE SURGICAL CONDITIONS OR SURGICAL PATIENTS WITH ACUTE MEDICAL CONDITIONS. N = 57 N(%) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (5.3) | 11 (19.3) | 33 (57.9) | 10 (17.5) | 4 (3.5-4) |
MET TAUGHT ME THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENT AUTONOMY AND SHARED DECISION MAKING WITH PRIMARY TEAM DOCTORS AND NURSES. N = 57 N(%) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (3.5) | 13 (22.8) | 30 (52.6) | 12 (21.0) | 4 (3–4) |
MET TAUGHT ME THE INFLUENCE FAMILY HAS IN A PATIENT’S DECISION MAKING. N = 57 N(%) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.8) | 17 (29.8) | 29 (50.9) | 10 (17.5) | 4 (3–4) |
SD = strongly disagree, D = disagree, N = neutral, A = agree, SA = strongly agree |
Questions related to interpersonal and communication skills
More than two-thirds of residents agreed or strongly agreed that through MET they learnt to communicate with family particularly regarding end of life care issues (Table 4).
Questions relating to professionalism
MET appeared to contribute positively to professionalism. Approximately three-quarters of participants agreed or strongly agreed that MET exposed them to various patient populations and importance of patient autonomy and shared decision making. (Table 4).
Questions about systems-based practice
Four out of five respondents agreed or strongly agreed that MET taught the importance of coordination of health care to ensure the best possible patient outcomes (Table 5).
Table 5
Survey questions and responses in the domain of Systems Based Practice.
SURVEY QUESTIONS | SD | D | N | A | SA | Median (IQR) |
SYSTEMS BASED PRACTICE | | | | | | |
THROUGH MET POSTING, I LEARNT THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING WITH VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND NEED FOR COORDINATING HEALTHCARE TO ENSURE BEST OUTCOME FOR PATIENT EG DIALYSIS PLANNING N = 57 N(%) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (3.5) | 10 (17.5) | 31 (54.4) | 14 (24.6) | 4 (4-4.75) |
THROUGH THE MET POSTING, I LEARNT HOW HAVING A RAPID RESPONSE TEAM CAN HELP TO IMPROVE PATIENT CARE N = 57 N(%) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (5.3) | 24 (42.1) | 30 (52.6) | 5 (4–5) |
SD = strongly disagree, D = disagree, N = neutral, A = agree, SA = strongly agree |
Declarations |
Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from SingHealth Centralised Institutional Review Board (Approval number 2017/2858). Participation in the survey was anonymous and willingness to complete the survey was taken as indication of consent. |
Consent for publication: Not Applicable |
Availability of data and materials: All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article [and its supplementary information files]. |
Comparison of respondent’s perceptions according to level of seniority
The residents who are in the postgraduate years 1 to 3 are typically junior residents as our residency programme for junior residency lasts 3 years whilst those in postgraduate years 4 to 6 are usually senior residents in their specialist training. We believe that the presumed experience of the different members of the MET team affects their perception of training.
We compared the above statements between gender, junior or senior residency programme and post-graduate year and did not find a significant difference except regarding whether they feel that they “needed to have formal training before MET and a formative assessment during/after MET posting”.
We compared 3 groups of residents (Postgraduate years 1–3, postgraduate years 4–6 and postgraduate years 7 or more) in their preference towards formal teaching before MET posting. Overall, there was a significant difference among the 3 groups (p = 0.040) (Fig. 1). A bonferroni post-hoc test showed that the significant difference lied between postgraduate year 1–3 and postgraduate year 4–6 only (p = 0.021). Other pairwise comparisons were not significant. There was no significant difference between postgraduate years 1–3 and more than 7 years (p = 0.723) and postgraduate years 4–6 and more than 7 years (p = 0.504).