Factors and conditions of successful professional adaptation of residents

BACKGROUND: Residency is the main stage in the training of highly qualified medical personnel. Requirements for the level of training and professional values of future doctors are increasing, approaches to training and assessment technologies are changing, which imposes additional responsibility on all participants in the educational process: teachers, mentors and residents.

AIM: To identify the factors and conditions that affect the professional adaptation of residents in the first months of training.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study involved 369 residents studying at Kazan State Medical University, Kazan (Volga region) Federal University, Kazan State Medical Academy, aged 22 to 36 years. Residents were subdivided into groups according to the following criteria: specialty, place of previous training, basis of training (by general competition, target, commercial), gender, age, clinical base of residency. An original questionnaire developed by the authors containing 27 questions was used. Questions of the questionnaire concerned various aspects of the adaptation of residents. Filling the questionnaire was anonymous and was carried out using Internet survey technology via Yandex Forms. Statistical analysis and visualization of the obtained data were performed using the StatTech v. 3.0.9. Categorical data were described with absolute values and percentages. Comparison of percentages in the analysis of multifield contingency tables was performed using Pearson's χ2 test.

RESULTS: Satisfaction with training was considered as one of the indicators of successful adaptation of residents. Based on the results of the 1st and 2nd months of residency training, 48.2% of respondents showed satisfaction with their training. There were no significant differences in the degree of satisfaction among residents of various specialties (p=0.424). Statistically significant differences (method used — Pearson's χ2) were established by the presence of a mentor/curator, as well as cases of disrespectful attitude on the part of the medical staff of the clinical base where they were trained, patients and their relatives, and the administration of the institution (p <0.05). The dependence of the process of residents’ adaptation on the chosen specialty, place of previous training, the basis of training (by general competition, target, commercial), gender, age, clinical base of residency was not found.

CONCLUSION: The conditions for successful adaptation of residents are the presence of a mentor from a medical organization, the accuracy of the instructions received, the frequency of meetings with a teacher/curator, the attention of the head of the department to the work and study of residents, and the motivation for learning from the residents themselves.