How Residents MET Their Training: Resident’s Perception of Medical Emergency Team and Its Contribution to Their Training

Background Medical Emergency Teams (MET) have been implemented in many hospitals to improve patient safety. Few studies examined how residents perceive the MET as part of training. Objective We aimed to evaluate residents’ perceptions of how MET rotation affected training in the core competencies specified by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Methods We conducted an online survey of 106 residents. They are either junior residents who are in training in internal medicine, non-trainee registrars or senior residents who are training in respiratory or advanced internal medicine. Results We achieved a response rate of 62.3%. More than 90% of residents agreed or strongly agreed that MET contributed positively to their training, made resuscitation of patients safer and more efficient, and disagreed or strongly disagreed that MET made resuscitation of patients more time-consuming or cumbersome. More than 80% agreed or strongly agreed that the MET improved their clinical judgement in medical emergencies, helped achieve their learning goals and exposed them to a wide variety of cases. At least two-thirds thought that the MET posting improved their procedural skills and communication in end of life care discussions. In contrast, 26.6% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the MET decreased autonomy of the primary team. One-third felt they needed formal training for the MET posting. Conclusion Our findings suggest that residents perceive participation in MET was beneficial in training and improved patient care. We also found that formal training and consultant oversight may be needed for junior team leaders of MET.