Navigating Industrial Action: The Guidance for Medical Students During Resident Doctor Strikes in England [version 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]

Objectives The British Medical Association announced a successful vote towards industrial action to achieve ‘pay restoration’ on 20 February 2023; with 11 walkout periods occurring in the following months. During industrial action, concerns arose about the role medical students would play and the pr...

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Main Authors: Hannah Okechukwu, Shonnelly Novintan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: F1000 Research Ltd 2024-12-01
Series:MedEdPublish
Subjects:
Online Access:https://mededpublish.org/articles/14-60/v2
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author Hannah Okechukwu
Shonnelly Novintan
author_facet Hannah Okechukwu
Shonnelly Novintan
author_sort Hannah Okechukwu
collection DOAJ
description Objectives The British Medical Association announced a successful vote towards industrial action to achieve ‘pay restoration’ on 20 February 2023; with 11 walkout periods occurring in the following months. During industrial action, concerns arose about the role medical students would play and the pressure placed upon them to ‘act up’. The objective of this study was to assess the guidance issued by medical schools and local placement sites during industrial action. Design, setting and participants This cross-sectional study collected online survey data between 7 March 2023 and 7 April 2023 from medical students across England. Main outcome measures Reports about guidance issued by medical schools and hospital placements. Results 62% of the medical schools issued guidance stating they were not cancelling clinical placements; of these, 10% said attendance was a personal choice. 17% of medical schools cancelled all clinical placements and 7% did not issue guidance. 52% of medical schools monitored attendance on strike days. 1 medical school and 3 clinical placement sites advertised paid work for students during the industrial action. Conclusion The impact industrial action has on medical students has not been examined. Our results show mixed guidance from medical schools that can contradict local placement guidance. This lack of guidance is mirrored in the existing, yet limited, literature. If students feel pressured to perform tasks outside their remit, with inadequate supervision, it can impact patient safety and their license to practice. For the safeguarding of patients, and students, further work is needed to produce standardised guidance during industrial action.
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spelling doaj-art-3ad5097c806543d8bcb2ee99930b53042025-02-08T01:00:00ZengF1000 Research LtdMedEdPublish2312-79962024-12-011422328Navigating Industrial Action: The Guidance for Medical Students During Resident Doctor Strikes in England [version 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]Hannah Okechukwu0Shonnelly Novintan1Imperial College London, London, England, UKSouthend University Hospital, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 0RY, UKObjectives The British Medical Association announced a successful vote towards industrial action to achieve ‘pay restoration’ on 20 February 2023; with 11 walkout periods occurring in the following months. During industrial action, concerns arose about the role medical students would play and the pressure placed upon them to ‘act up’. The objective of this study was to assess the guidance issued by medical schools and local placement sites during industrial action. Design, setting and participants This cross-sectional study collected online survey data between 7 March 2023 and 7 April 2023 from medical students across England. Main outcome measures Reports about guidance issued by medical schools and hospital placements. Results 62% of the medical schools issued guidance stating they were not cancelling clinical placements; of these, 10% said attendance was a personal choice. 17% of medical schools cancelled all clinical placements and 7% did not issue guidance. 52% of medical schools monitored attendance on strike days. 1 medical school and 3 clinical placement sites advertised paid work for students during the industrial action. Conclusion The impact industrial action has on medical students has not been examined. Our results show mixed guidance from medical schools that can contradict local placement guidance. This lack of guidance is mirrored in the existing, yet limited, literature. If students feel pressured to perform tasks outside their remit, with inadequate supervision, it can impact patient safety and their license to practice. For the safeguarding of patients, and students, further work is needed to produce standardised guidance during industrial action.https://mededpublish.org/articles/14-60/v2Strike education student pay restoration industrial actioneng
spellingShingle Hannah Okechukwu
Shonnelly Novintan
Navigating Industrial Action: The Guidance for Medical Students During Resident Doctor Strikes in England [version 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]
MedEdPublish
Strike
education
student
pay restoration
industrial action
eng
title Navigating Industrial Action: The Guidance for Medical Students During Resident Doctor Strikes in England [version 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]
title_full Navigating Industrial Action: The Guidance for Medical Students During Resident Doctor Strikes in England [version 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]
title_fullStr Navigating Industrial Action: The Guidance for Medical Students During Resident Doctor Strikes in England [version 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]
title_full_unstemmed Navigating Industrial Action: The Guidance for Medical Students During Resident Doctor Strikes in England [version 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]
title_short Navigating Industrial Action: The Guidance for Medical Students During Resident Doctor Strikes in England [version 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]
title_sort navigating industrial action the guidance for medical students during resident doctor strikes in england version 2 peer review 2 approved 1 approved with reservations
topic Strike
education
student
pay restoration
industrial action
eng
url https://mededpublish.org/articles/14-60/v2
work_keys_str_mv AT hannahokechukwu navigatingindustrialactiontheguidanceformedicalstudentsduringresidentdoctorstrikesinenglandversion2peerreview2approved1approvedwithreservations
AT shonnellynovintan navigatingindustrialactiontheguidanceformedicalstudentsduringresidentdoctorstrikesinenglandversion2peerreview2approved1approvedwithreservations