BBT Revisted - final report now available

In 2021 we carried out a follow-up study with the participants of a three-year long evaluation of the broad-based training (BBT) programme, originally completed in 2017 (Bullock et al 2018, 2017; Muddiman et al 2019, 2016a, 2016b). Key conclusions of the original study were that the BBT programme developed trainees who bring a wider perspective to health care, promote specialty integration, adopt holistic, patient-centred approaches to care, are able to manage patients with complex presentations, and who have conviction in their choice of career.  The goal of the follow-up study, commissioned by Health Education England North West, was to identify the longer-term career destinations of the participating doctors and whether the benefits of the BBT programme were sustained or in any way disadvantaged their career progression.

First, we conducted scoping interviews with eight former BBT trainees. The next step was to launch a survey based on the original study and the scoping interviews. We received 70 responses from 118 potential participants. We found that BBT had clearly influenced their career decisions and that most participants had no regrets about joining the programme. BBT enable participants to make informed career decisions, gain additional experience in other specialities, and develop a more holistic approach to care. Some participants faced challenges after exiting the BBT and joining their specialty training (for example having to catch up with speciality specific training and not being part of a cohort of peers), but these difficulties did not have a lasting impact on their careers. The participants in this study felt privileged to have experienced BBT and were saddened that it was no longer available.

Our executive summary is available to download now and the full report is available upon request.