494 A Comparison of the Nature and Prevalence of Bullying Amongst Trainees and Consultants

Aim The study aims to compare the prevalence and nature of bullying amongst trainees and consultants, as well as to analyse the effectiveness of reporting systems. Method UK GMC-registered doctors participated in an anonymised survey on bullying (n=313). The majority were male (57%), 42% were consultants, 37% trainees and 21% out of training. Results 42% of trainees had experienced bullying. Compared to consultants, trainees are more likely to be bullied by nurses (p<0.05), administrative staff (p=0.06) and less likely to be bullied by colleagues of a similar standing (p<0.05). Trainees reported bullying less frequently than consultants (35% vs. 39%). Trainees didn’t report bullying for fear of being labelled a troublemaker (68%), a belief that nothing would happen (68%) and a fear of being targeted as a result (59%). Notably, trainees ranked certain reasons much higher than consultants: a lack of awareness of the reporting procedure, lengthy reporting procedure, a lack of support and a fear of anonymity being broken. When trainees reported the bullying, the outcome wasn’t to their satisfaction in almost half of the cases. The most cited reason was “nothing changed as a result”. Of those who received a response, response time was most commonly less than 3 months. Trainees were less likely to contact the freedom to speak up guardian than consultants. A majority of trainees wish they had reported the bullying in hindsight. Conclusions This data demonstrates that bullying is still a prevalent issue and underscores the further work needed to support trainees specifically in reporting bullying.