Specialist training in family medicine in Malta during 2007-2012 : a comparative evaluation of the first and fifth years of the programme

Abstract

As a result of Malta’s entry to the European Union in 2004, Family Medicine was recognised as a speciality and subsequently a three-year programme of Specialist Training was launched in 2007 by the Primary Health Care Department and the Malta College of Family Doctors. By 2012, three cohorts of GP trainees had completed the training programme. Evaluation is important in ensuring quality and success in provision of teaching programmes in general, and family-doctor training in particular. While evaluation and improvement of the programme is performed on an ongoing basis, a comparison of the trainees’ evaluations of the first (2007-8) and fifth (2011-2) years of the training programme was carried out in order to identify areas where consolidation or further improvement was needed. Evaluation forms are completed by trainees after each post in family or hospital practice and after each group-teaching session. The information from these forms is transcribed into MS Excel to enable quantitative and qualitative analysis. The feedback given during the period 2007 – 2008 was compared with that given during 2011 – 2012. During the first and fifth years of the training programme, GP trainees were 80-90% satisfied with the effectiveness of the training provided during the family practice posts, and over 90% satisfied with the presentation, content and relevance of the teaching provided during the group teaching sessions. Their overall satisfaction with the effectiveness of training in the other specialities improved from 53-92% to 65-95%. While GP trainees’ satisfaction with their training generally remained high or improved, specific areas were identified in family medicine and hospital placements where changes for improvement are merited.