Can compassionate leadership of senior hospital leaders help retain trainee doctors?

Background: High burnout and low retention rates among trainee doctors threaten the future viability of the UK medical workforce. This study empirically examined factors that can sustain trainee doctors.

Method: A total of 323 trainee doctors from 25 National Health Service (NHS) Trusts in England and Wales completed an online survey on their training and employment experiences. A mixed method approach was employed.

Results: Structural equation modelling revealed that perceived compassionate leadership of hospital senior leaders (CLSL) (i.e., doctors in senior clinical and management positions, and senior managers) is directly and negatively associated with trainee doctors' burnout and intention to quit. We propose the associations may be indirectly strengthened through two mediating pathways: increased psychological contract fulfilment (PCF) of training/organisational support and reduced worry about the state of the NHS; however, only the former is supported. The model can explain a substantial 37% of the variance in reported burnout and 28% of intention to quit among trainee doctors. Being a Foundation Year (FY) trainee was significantly associated with poor PCF and burnout. Rich qualitative data further elaborated on their experiences in terms of senior leaders' awareness of their training/working experiences, listening to and acting on.

Conclusions: Active and demonstrable CLSL plays a vital role in trainee doctors' retention. It has both direct (through support) and indirect effects through improving trainee doctors' PCF to reduce burnout and intention to quit. This seems particularly valuable among FY doctors. Implications for the development and management of the medical workforce are discussed.