Return to firm structure could help boost trainee morale, says Royal College of Surgeons

A training scheme that will create a modern firm structure could help to improve junior doctors’ morale, the Royal College of Surgeons has said.

Earlier this month the college started recruiting to the Improving Surgical Training (IST) programme. This pilot scheme has been designed to give surgical trainees a better balance between training and service provision and to make the role of the surgical trainer more professional. It will be piloted throughout England, Scotland, and Wales, with 81 posts available.1

One aspect of the pilot scheme will be to create a modern firm structure—where members of the wider surgical care team, including physician associates and surgical care practitioners, will help to support trainees.

Ian Eardley, senior vice president of …