Musgrove Park Hospital’s acute medical unit has been rated the best in the country for overall satisfaction with doctor training in acute medicine.

The team achieved the top score in the 2026 General Medical Council national training survey, placing first out of 189 acute medical units across the country.

The annual survey asks doctors in training about their experience, including the quality of supervision, support, teaching, and the culture of the teams they work in.

The result is a major achievement for colleagues on Musgrove’s acute medical unit, which has consistently scored highly in previous years, often placing in the top five or top 10 nationally.

Dr Tom Payne, a consultant in acute medicine at Musgrove Park Hospital, which is run by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said the recognition reflects the strong team culture across the unit.

“We’re really proud of the result,” he said. “We’ve had consistently high scores over the years and there’s definitely something nice about being number one and getting that top spot.

“It shows that we can be consistent, and that it’s not just a one-off. It’s something we’ve been able to maintain, which means it’s embedded in the way we work and is there all the time.”

Musgrove’s acute medical unit, known to most as AMU, cares for patients who are admitted to hospital with a wide range of urgent medical conditions.

That variety makes it a busy and fast-paced environment, but also one that offers a rich learning experience for doctors in training, as well as colleagues across the wider multidisciplinary team.

Dr Payne added one of the strengths of the unit is that learning is seen as something everyone does together, regardless of role or level of experience.

“This has been a big team effort,” he added. “It’s the way we all work together and learn together – not just our resident doctors learning from us, but we also learn from them.

“If there’s something we’re not sure about, we’ll look it up together and talk it through as a group.

“Every day is an opportunity to learn and improve, whether that’s me, the most senior consultant, or the newest person to the team.

“We’re embedding that in everything we do, so that every day is an opportunity to improve and learn something new. Hopefully that filters through the whole team, and everyone grows together.”

A key part of the unit’s approach is giving doctors in training the opportunity to develop their confidence and independence, while making sure they feel well supported.

The achievement has been described as a whole-team success, with consultants, resident doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other colleagues all playing an important role in creating a positive environment for learning and patient care.

“Ultimately, we hope that by giving people a good experience, when those trainees move on, they might come back in five or 10 years and become long-term colleagues here, whether that’s on the acute medical unit or in another department,” Dr Payne said.