The PMETB National Trainee Survey: is it a useful tool?

The Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) has recently published the third National Trainee Survey of trainee doctors’ attitudes towards training, conducted online, with the fourth survey due out this April. The PMETB, an independent statutory body, has pioneered a way forward for deaneries to closely monitor training. The survey was intended to contribute towards improving the quality of training, but have they got it right? Criticisms are: too much data, too many confusing reports, a website that is hard to navigate, and information not always specific enough for deaneries to act upon at a local level. Is this just an embryonic stage? Do our local deanery teams and trainee doctors simply require education on website navigation and data interpretation? Or is it actually a waste of time?