The wellbeing of emergency department (ED) staff has been identified by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) as a priority area for research,1 and successive years of General Medical Council survey data have identified emergency medicine (EM) as the specialty with the highest burnout levels.2 There is currently little evidence on the impact of rota design on the wellbeing of ED staff, although RCEM published guidance on implementing self-rostering in 2019.3 One previous report indicates self-rostering may improve wellbeing in EM and acute internal medicine trainees in a single trust.4
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of self-rostering on the wellbeing and need for recovery of EM trainees in the UK. An online cross-sectional survey was distributed to all trainees between February and May 2024, attached via link to the established Emergency Medicine Trainee Association survey.