Table 2.
Activities undertaken ‘routinely’ by F1 or F2 doctors, and nurse perceptions of those activities
| Activity | F1 and F2: frequency (%) reporting ‘regular’ | ‘Regular’ F1 | ‘Regular’ F2 | Nurses: frequency (%) reporting ‘mainly nurses’ |
| Use electronic systems to retrieve patient data including results | 3457 (98.5) | 1717 (99.3%) | 1740 (97.8%) | 7 (4) |
| Interpret findings from history and/or examination | 3473 (97.2) | 1701 (96.8%) | 1772 (97.6%) | 8 (4.2) |
| Interpret the results of investigations | 3470 (97.2) | 1717 (97.7%) | 1753 (96.8%) | 7 (3.7) |
| Make clinical judgements and decisions, in conjunction with colleagues | 3465 (97.1) | 1704 (97%) | 1761 (97.2%) | 5 (2.6) |
| Provide a safe and legal prescription | 3502 (96.9) | 1725 (96.9%) | 1777 (96.9%) | 2 (1) |
| Seek advice from other health professionals in a situation of clinical uncertainty | 3404 (96.9) | 1698 (98%) | 1706 (95.7%) | 9 (5.1) |
| Plan drug therapy for common indications, including pain and distress | 3491 (96.3) | 1731 (97.1%) | 1760 (95.6%) | 4 (2) |
| Provide explanation, advice, reassurance and support to a patient | 3390 (96.1) | 1667 (96.1%) | 1723 (96.2%) | 47 (25.8) |
| Formulate a plan for treatment and management | 3359 (95.7) | 1645 (95.1%) | 1714 (96.3%) | 8 (4.5) |
| Take a medical history | 3414 (95.4) | 1646 (93.4%) | 1768 (97.4%) | 12 (6.2) |
| Seek advice from other health professionals to formulate a plan for treatment, management and discharge | 3340 (95.2) | 1692 (97.7%) | 1648 (92.7%) | 13 (7.5) |
| Formulate a plan of investigation | 3398 (95.1) | 1650 (93.8%) | 1748 (96.5%) | 5 (2.6) |
| Make an initial assessment of a patient’s problems | 3396 (95.1) | 1643 (93.4%) | 1753 (96.7%) | 14 (7.3) |
| Formulate a differential diagnosis | 3387 (94.7) | 1637 (93%) | 1750 (96.5%) | 7 (3.7) |
| Establish a problem list and likely diagnosis or diagnoses | 3379 (94.7) | 1635 (93.1%) | 1744 (96.4%) | 5 (2.6) |
| Take a family and social history | 3384 (94.6) | 1626 (92.2%) | 1758 (97%) | 36 (18.8) |
| Perform a full physical examination | 3372 (94.5) | 1648 (93.6%) | 1724 (95.2%) | 4 (2.1) |
| Access reliable information about medicines | 3404 (94.1) | 1686 (94.6%) | 1718 (93.7%) | 7 (3.5) |
| Seek professional opinion from another specialty or professional | 3286 (93.7) | 1659 (95.9%) | 1627 (91.6%) | 4 (2.3) |
| Use electronic systems to enter patient information (eg, discharge plan) | 3284 (93.6) | 1656 (95.8%) | 1628 (91.5%) | 13 (7.4) |
| Communicate with patients of different age groups | 3287 (93.5) | 1607 (92.8%) | 1680 (94.2%) | 24 (13.2) |
| Elicit a patient’s questions and understanding about their condition and treatment options | 3297 (93.4) | 1608 (92.6%) | 1689 (94.2%) | 17 (9.4) |
| Take a drug history, covering prescribed and other medication, including complementary and alternative therapies | 3298 (91) | 1580 (88.5%) | 1718 (93.4%) | 8 (3.9) |
| Identify a patient’s preferences for involvement in decision making about their care and treatment | 3132 (88.8) | 1497 (86.1%) | 1635 (91.4%) | 22 (12.3) |
| Perform venepuncture | 3253 (88.3) | 1740 (96%) | 1513 (80.9%) | 76 (34.9) |
| Take a history from relatives or carers | 3155 (88.3) | 1506 (85.6%) | 1649 (91%) | 27 (14.1) |
| Help a patient to make decisions about their care, including self-care, and treatment | 3086 (87.5) | 1463 (84.4%) | 1623 (90.6%) | 30 (16.6) |
| Participate in a multidisciplinary clinical discussion | 3104 (86.9) | 1535 (87.3%) | 1569 (86.4%) | 10 (5.3) |
| Obtain informed consent from patient for investigations | 3087 (86.3) | 1469 (83.4%) | 1618 (89.1%) | 9 (4.8) |
| Be involved in the prescription of controlled drugs | 3093 (85.5) | 1573 (88.4%) | 1520 (82.7%) | 4 (2) |
| Access information (eg, online, in books or journals) to support patient care, research or education | 2995 (85.4) | 1436 (83.1%) | 1559 (87.7%) | 9 (5.2) |
| Maintain handwritten medical notes | 2990 (85.1) | 1648 (95.2%) | 1342 (75.3%) | 7 (4) |
| Give patients information about their medicines | 3059 (84.6) | 1473 (82.8%) | 1586 (86.3%) | 49 (24.5) |
| Measure pulse rate | 3098 (83.9) | 1519 (83.6%) | 1579 (84.2%) | 10 (4.5) |
| Prescribe intravenous fluids | 2923 (80.8) | 1643 (92.3%) | 1280 (69.7%) | 4 (2) |
| Perform intravenous cannulation | 2950 (80.2) | 1655 (91.4%) | 1295 (69.3%) | 32 (14.9) |
| Calculate and record drug doses | 2853 (78.7) | 1446 (81.1%) | 1407 (76.5%) | 20 (10) |
| Formulate a discharge plan | 2744 (78.2) | 1481 (85.6%) | 1263 (71.1%) | 17 (9.8) |
| Manage a patient with sepsis | 2669 (74.3) | 1455 (82.2%) | 1214 (66.6%) | 4 (2.1) |
| Take peripheral blood cultures | 2686 (72.9) | 1504 (82.9%) | 1182 (63.2%) | 32 (14.6) |
| Discuss sensitive issues with a patient, such as alcohol consumption, smoking or obesity | 2519 (71.4) | 1097 (63.2%) | 1422 (79.4%) | 17 (9.4) |
| Perform arterial puncture in an adult | 2516 (68.3) | 1482 (81.8%) | 1034 (55.3%) | 5 (2.3) |
The table shows those questionnaire items indicated as being a ‘regular’ part of work ‘in the last 4 weeks’ by >75% of F1 or F2 respondents (a ‘routine' activity) and the corresponding frequency and percentage of nurse respondents who indicated that the activity was ‘mainly or exclusively’ done by nurses. The frequency with which ‘regular’ items were performed by the doctor groups was compared with the corresponding responses from nurses using Kendall rank correlation (Kendall’s tau=0.26).