Electrocardiography Interpretation Proficiency Among Medical Doctors of Different Grades in the United Kingdom

Objective: Electrocardiography interpretation is a core clinical skill for all doctors participating in emergency medical services. Given the majority of ECGs initially performed in hospital on admission are reviewed by junior doctors, and the need for life-threatening pathology to be diagnosed or excluded, further understanding of the level of competency in interpretation and factors associated with this are needed.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical study. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. This was comprised of two sections; the first section contained questions related to confidence, previous ECG learning and factors thought to be associated with ECG interpretation competence. The second section was an ECG quiz of 10 12-lead ECGs of varying complexity for interpretation assessment. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized for data analysis.

Results: Sixty-two doctors from foundation year 1 to registrar level working in acute medicine across three hospitals participated. The mean overall percentage score for the ECG quiz was 45%. No association was found between junior doctor training grade and overall score on the ECG assessment. Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching strategies also did not impact competence. Only 9.7% reported themselves as "confident" interpreting ECGs. There was a trend towards higher levels of competency among those who felt they had undergone sufficient ECG teaching and those who sought regular feedback from other clinicians.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated low overall levels of ECG interpretation competency among junior doctors in a large acute teaching NHS trust regardless of grade. Factors associated with competency remain unclear.