Background: Orientation programmes for new residents in paediatric departments are available in many Norwegian hospitals. The purpose of this study was to assess whether recently employed residents were content with the way they had been received and how these programmes were put into practice.
Material and methods: Two different questionnaires were used; one was sent to residents who had been employed for less than 12 months ago and one to the directors of 22 Norwegian paediatric departments. The residents were asked about the reception at their new workplace and how they had been introduced to the paediatric field, whether the counselling functioned and when they started independent call duties. We asked the directors for information concerning their orientation programmes for new employees.
Results: 20 of the directors answered the questionnaire. 13 departments had an orientation programme, and this was regularly followed in nine departments. 60 residents returned the questionnaire. 63% of the residents had been through some kind of orientation programme and a little more than half were assigned to a dedicated personal counsellor within two weeks after employment. The first personal counselling took place after a median of eight weeks. The residents' contentment with their reception in the department correlated significantly with the systematic use of an orientation programme.
Interpretation: The results of this study demonstrate a substantial potential for improvement in how we introduce and guide recently employed paediatric residents during their first weeks in a new job.