Experiences of GP trainees in undertaking telephone consultations: a mixed methods study

Background Primary care telephone consultations are increasingly used for patient triage, reviews, and providing clinical information. They are also a key postgraduate training component yet little is known about GP trainees’ preparation for, or experiences and perceptions of, them. Aim To understand the experiences, perceptions, and training of GP trainees in conducting telephone consultations. Design & setting A mixed-methods study was undertaken of North Central and East London (NCEL) GP trainees. Method A cross-sectional electronic survey of trainees was performed with subsequent semi-structured interviews. Survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data using thematic analysis. Results The survey response was 16% (n = 100/618), and 10 participated in semi-structured interviews. Trainees felt least confident with complicated telephone consulting, and there was a strong positive correlation between the percentage reporting having received training and their confidence (R 2 = 0.71, P