The rotational approach to medical education: time to confront our assumptions?

Medical Education 2011: 45 : 69–80 Context Trainees in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education engage in multiple transitions as part of the educational process, including many transitions that occur on both periodic and daily bases within medical education programmes. The clinical rotation, based on either a medical discipline or clinical care setting and occurring over a predetermined, short period of time, is a deeply entrenched educational approach with its roots in Abraham Flexner’s seminal report. Many assumptions about the presumed benefits of clinical rotations have become pervasive despite a lack of empirical evidence on their optimal timing and structure, and on how transitions between clinical rotations should occur. Methods In this paper, we examine the issue of rotational transitions from the three perspectives of sociology, learning theory, and the improvement of quality and safety. Results Discussion from the sociological perspective addresses the need for much greater attention to interprofessional relationships and professional development, whereas that from the learning theory perspective examines the gap between what is known from pedagogical and cognitive science and what is currently practised (learning theory). Discussion from the perspective of improving quality and safety refers to the critical need to embed trainees in functional clinical microsystems as meaningful participants. Conclusions Research is urgently needed on the effects of transitions on trainees, faculty staff, non‐doctor health care providers and patients in order to optimise future competency‐based training models and confirm or refute current assumptions.     

Entrustment decisions: Implications for curriculum development and assessment

Abstract

With increased interest in the use of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, comes questions about their implications for curriculum development and assessment. This paper addresses some of those questions, discussed at a symposium of the 2017 conference of AMEE, by presenting the components of an EPA, describing their importance and application, identifying their implications for assessment, and pinpointing some of challenges they pose in undergraduate and postgraduate settings. It defines entrustment, describes the three levels of trust, and presents trainee and supervisor factors that influence it as well as perceived benefits, and risks. Two aspects of EPAs have implications for assessment: units of professional practice and decisions based on entrustment, which impact an assessment’s blueprint, test methods, scores, and standards. In an undergraduate setting EPAs have great appeal, but work is needed to identify and develop a robust assessment system for core EPAs. At the postgraduate level, there is tension between the granularity of the competencies and the integrated nature of the EPAs. Even though work remains, EPAs offer an important step in the evolution of competency-based education.     

Promoting physicians' self-assessment and quality improvement: the ABIM diabetes practice improvement module

INTRODUCTION: The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) recognized that certification and recertification must be based on an assessment of performance in practice as well as an examination of medical knowledge. Physician self-assessment of practice performance is proposed as one method that certification boards may use to evaluate competence in practice-based learning and improvement and systems-based practice. METHODS: Sixteen practicing general internists and endocrinologists with 10-year time-limited certification participated in a beta test of the ABIM's diabetes practice improvement module (PIM) as part of their recertification program. A PIM consists of a self-directed medical record audit, practice system survey, and patient survey. A quality improvement education specialist from the Connecticut Quality Improvement Organization provided on-site and distance consultation on quality improvement methods and tools. An independent audit assessed the reliability of physician self-audit. Qualitative interviews were conducted at 2 time points to assess for physician satisfaction and behavioral change in quality improvement. RESULTS: Fourteen physicians completed the diabetes PIM. All but 1 physician found the medical record audit to provide important information about the practice. Of the 11 physicians who completed a follow-up interview, 10 stated that the quality improvement education specialist helped improve their practice. DISCUSSION: Self-assessment using the ABIM diabetes PIM as part of recertification provides valuable practice information and can lead to meaningful behavioral change by physicians. Collaboration with an educator in quality improvement appears to facilitate the effects of the practice improvement module. Future work should investigate the effect on patient outcomes.     

Improving the quality of preventive cardiovascular care provided by primary care physicians: insights from a US Quality Improvement Organization.

BACKGROUND: During 2000-03, Qualidigm, a US Quality Improvement Organization, conducted a project to improve the care received by elderly Medicare patients with coronary artery disease or cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: We recruited primary care physicians in private practice in the state of Connecticut. Then, we identified approximately 30-50 patients per physician from the periods 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000 and 1 November 2001 to 31 October 2002. We abstracted medical records to assess processes and outcomes of care, and we provided the physicians with performance data and a variety of practice-enhancing materials. The physicians utilized those materials that they perceived to be most helpful. RESULTS: We identified and recruited 974 primary care physicians to participate. Of these, 103 (10.6%) committed to participate, and 85 of the 103 completed the project. Among the intervention tools, physicians and their office personnel utilized personal digital assistants (PDAs) (36.5%) and patient education materials (34.1%) most commonly. Overall, quality of care improved for most physicians (mean quality score 62.0 to 67.8%, P < 0.001). However, not all improved, and most improvements were modest [mean absolute improvement in quality score 5.8%, standard deviation (SD) 6.8%]. CONCLUSIONS: Quality Improvement Organizations and others interested in improving outpatient quality of care face significant challenges in recruiting self-employed primary care physicians to quality improvement projects and in bringing about transformational change. Future primary care quality improvement projects should include careful assessments of practice-specific barriers, interventions that are linked to these barriers, and support of the practices on implementation.     

A Multiple Choice Testing Program Coupled with a Year-long Elective Experience is Associated with Improved Performance on the Internal Medicine In-Training Examination

Background  

The Internal Medicine In-Training Exam (IM-ITE) assesses the content knowledge of internal medicine trainees. Many programs use the IM-ITE to counsel residents, to create individual remediation plans, and to make fundamental programmatic and curricular modifications.     

Regression models for the restricted residual mean life for right‐censored and left‐truncated data

The hazard ratios resulting from a Cox's regression hazards model are hard to interpret and to be converted into prolonged survival time. As the main goal is often to study survival functions, there is increasing interest in summary measures based on the survival function that are easier to interpret than the hazard ratio; the residual mean time is an important example of those measures. However, because of the presence of right censoring, the tail of the survival distribution is often difficult to estimate correctly. Therefore, we consider the restricted residual mean time, which represents a partial area under the survival function, given any time horizon τ, and is interpreted as the residual life expectancy up to τ of a subject surviving up to time t. We present a class of regression models for this measure, based on weighted estimating equations and inverse probability of censoring weighted estimators to model potential right censoring. Furthermore, we show how to extend the models and the estimators to deal with delayed entries. We demonstrate that the restricted residual mean life estimator is equivalent to integrals of Kaplan–Meier estimates in the case of simple factor variables. Estimation performance is investigated by simulation studies. Using real data from Danish Monitoring Cardiovascular Risk Factor Surveys, we illustrate an application to additive regression models and discuss the general assumption of right censoring and left truncation being dependent on covariates. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Opening the black box of clinical skills assessment via observation: a conceptual model

Medical Education 2011: 45 : 1048–1060 Objectives This study was intended to develop a conceptual framework of the factors impacting on faculty members’ judgements and ratings of resident doctors (residents) after direct observation with patients. Methods In 2009, 44 general internal medicine faculty members responsible for out‐patient resident teaching in 16 internal medicine residency programmes in a large urban area in the eastern USA watched four videotaped scenarios and two live scenarios of standardised residents engaged in clinical encounters with standardised patients. After each, faculty members rated the resident using a mini‐clinical evaluation exercise and were individually interviewed using a semi‐structured interview. Interviews were videotaped, transcribed and analysed using grounded theory methods. Results Four primary themes that provide insights into the variability of faculty assessments of residents’ performance were identified: (i) the frames of reference used by faculty members when translating observations into judgements and ratings are variable; (ii) high levels of inference are used during the direct observation process; (iii) the methods by which judgements are synthesised into numerical ratings are variable, and (iv) factors external to resident performance influence ratings. From these themes, a conceptual model was developed to describe the process of observation, interpretation, synthesis and rating. Conclusions It is likely that multiple factors account for the variability in faculty ratings of residents. Understanding these factors informs potential new approaches to faculty development to improve the accuracy, reliability and utility of clinical skills assessment.