Anaesthetic training takes up a long portion of a doctor’s life. During this time anaesthetic trainees develop all the skills required of a consultant anaesthetist, pass multiple post graduate fellowship exams, and decide which specialisms we would like to develop. This happens alongside life continuing outside of the work environment. Many doctors become patients themselves during training- most commonly during pregnancy and have been shown to have a higher rate of complicated pregnancy’s than the general population [1]. We assessed how an anaesthetist might be affected from the maternity care they or their partner have received (positive or negative), and whether their experiences altered their career path.

Methods

A survey was sent to anaesthetists in the UK asking if they or their partner had had recent experience of maternity care (past 5 years). They were then asked whether they had had either a positive or negative experience, how their experiences had impacted their career and about support received when returning to work.

Results

There were 38 responses to our survey, (55.3% female, 44.7% male). 27.8% felt their maternity care had negatively affected their anaesthetic training. Five trainees avoided the trusts they received their care in and three changed their mind with regards to obstetric special interest area modules (SIA). Examples of trainee’s having more empathy and appreciation for patients and midwives were given, as well as feelings that their care led to them being a better obstetric anaesthetist. In terms of a trainee’s return to training after their maternity experience, there was a range of responses detailed ranging from debriefs given by a college tutor and a phased/supported return to training, through to no support given at all.

Discussion

Around a quarter of trainees who had recent maternity experiences as a patient felt it negatively affected their training. There were a mixture of positive and negative effects shared. As receiving maternity care is a very common healthcare experience doctors will have, we can infer that obstetric training is most likely to be influenced by an anaesthetist’s own experiences. We would recommend that all anaesthetists who undergo maternity care should have a supported, careful return to work [2]. Trainee’s should be allowed time away from maternity if they feel it is appropriate- especially if they have had a traumatic experience.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the all doctors who complete our survey