Victorian PHEEM Program

The Victorian PHEEM project is an ongoing initiative facilitated by the Postgraduate Medical Council of Victoria and jointly conducted by Medical Education Officers (MEOs) at participating hospitals. The PHEEM instrument used in Victoria is identical to the original UK version except for minor amendments to language, which make it congruent with Australian terminology; for example, the item ‘I am bleeped inappropriately’ has been changed to ‘I am paged inappropriately’. The demographics section of the Victorian PHEEM instrument was expanded. Australian PHEEM form

Conducting the PHEEM

MEOs at participating hospitals administer the PHEEM at the end of each term rotation to junior doctors in their first, second and third postgraduate years (PGY 1, 2, 3). Completed questionnaires are collected and PMCV coordinates the processing and statistical analysis of the information, which is then reported back to the participating hospitals. Each hospital is responsible for disseminating their data as necessary to address their needs.

Hospitals have varying needs and purposes in relation to their involvement in the PHEEM project including the capacity to benchmark; and to find out what hospitals individually and collectively do well and where improvement is needed.

PHEEM scoring

Statistical analysis of the PHEEM data includes the production of mean results for an overall score (  /160) and for all 40 items (rated 0-4). An overall PHEEM score of more than 81/160 indicates a positive response, while results lower than this indicate that plenty of problems exist in the educational environment. A mean score of 3 or 4 for an item reflects positively for that aspect of the educational environment; conversely, a score of less than 2 reflects negatively.

Rollout of the PHEEM project in Victoria

The project commenced in 2006 with six hospitals involved; the Royal Children’s Hospital; Bendigo Hospital; Latrobe Regional Hospital; Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre; Western Hospital; and Hamilton Base Hospital.

In 2008, five hospitals were involved in the Victorian PHEEM project; Bendigo Hospital; the Northern Hospital; Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre; St Vincent’s Hospital; and Warrnambool Hospital.

PHEEM Reports and Presentations from 2006-2008

• Victorian MEOs Evaluate Hospital Educational Environments (Prevoc Conference, Sydney, 2007)
• Evaluate Learning Environments with PHEEM: Victorian Hospital focus on 'Working with Others' (Ozzawa, Melbourne, 2008)
• Enhancing the Educational Environment for Junior Doctors (Prevoc Conference, Gold Coast, 2009)
• PHEEM Downunder - Medical Teacher 2010

In 2009, it was decided that in-depth information about some of the results was required to progress the project, so five focus groups involving 70+ junior doctors were conducted. See PHEEM Report (Stage 2) 2009.

In 2010, eight hospitals are participating in the PHEEM project: Royal Children’s Hospital; Bendigo Hospital; Echuca Hospital; Latrobe Regional Hospital; Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre; Royal Melbourne Hospital; the Northern Hospital; and Western Hospital.