2005 March | Capsules

More on the Harvard study about older v. younger docs

Sue Pelletier March 1st, 2005

This story just won’t go away. Here are links to a couple more items about the Harvard study that found younger docs outperform their elders in some areas:

From American Medical News: a good summary of the study results.

DB’s MedRants offers a physician’s take on it–an older physician, that is. And a followup post concludes: "Regardless, we clearly do not do a good job of helping physicians stay current. Most CME does not work. Most physicians find it difficult to set aside the time to stay current." This is the same thing we found in our Annual Physicians Survey. The problem is, what to do about it? I think point-of-care learning is the answer for time-starved docs. But it won’t be easy.

This story just won’t go away. Here are links to a couple more items about the Harvard study that found younger docs outperform their elders in some areas:

From American Medical News: a good summary of the study results.

DB’s MedRants offers a physician’s take on it–an older physician, that is. And a followup post concludes: "Regardless, we clearly do not do a good job of helping physicians stay current. Most CME does not work. Most physicians find it difficult to set aside the time to stay current." This is the same thing we found in our Annual Physicians Survey. The problem is, what to do about it? I think point-of-care learning is the answer for time-starved docs. But it won’t be easy.

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Tips for evidence-based medicine learners

Sue Pelletier March 1st, 2005

This post courtesy of Anne Taylor-Vaisey:

Barratt A, Wyer PC, Hatala R, McGinn T, Dans AL, Keitz S et al. Tips for learners of evidence-based medicine: 1. Relative risk reduction, absolute risk reduction and number needed to treat. CMAJ 2004; 171(4):353-358.
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Montori VM, Kleinbart J, Newman TB, Keitz S, Wyer PC, Moyer V et al. Tips for learners of evidence-based medicine: 2. Measures of precision (confidence intervals). CMAJ 2004; 171(6):611-615.
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McGinn T, Wyer PC, Newman TB, Keitz S,

Leipzig

R, For GG. Tips for learners of evidence-based medicine: 3. Measures of observer variability (kappa statistic). CMAJ 2004; 171(11):1369-1373.
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Hatala R, Keitz S, Wyer P, Guyatt G, for The Evidence-Based Medicine Teaching Tips Working Group. Tips for learners of evidence-based medicine: 4. Assessing heterogeneity of primary studies in systematic reviews and whether to combine their results. CMAJ 2005; 172(5):661-665.
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Education for life

Sue Pelletier March 1st, 2005

This post courtesy of Anne Taylor-Vaisey:

This looks like an interesting program. I do not have access to the full text, but I have provided a reprint request address.

Happell B. Education for life: the evaluation of an innovative approach to facilitate ongoing learning for nurses. Int J Psychiatr Nurs Res 2005; 10(2):1117-1128.

Abstract: There is general consensus within the nursing profession that life-long learning is crucial for all nurses irrespective of their educational backgrounds. There currently is a paucity of literature addressing both the problems experienced in accessing and utilising continuing education or innovative programs designed to overcome these problems, despite widespread acknowledgement of the problems encountered. In this paper the findings from the evaluation of the Clinician-Trainer Program*, developed by the Centre for Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice (CPNRP) are presented. This includes an evaluation of the course itself and of its impact on clinical practice. The findings suggest a high level of satisfaction with the course, but more importantly, it appears to be assisting trained clinicians to deliver professional development sessions within their workplace.

Pubmed link
Reprint requests: Brenda Happell, Centre for Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice, School of Postgraduate Nursing University of Melbourne,

Carlton

Victoria

3010
E-mail: bhappell@nursingunimelb.edu

This post courtesy of Anne Taylor-Vaisey:

This looks like an interesting program. I do not have access to the full text, but I have provided a reprint request address.

Happell B. Education for life: the evaluation of an innovative approach to facilitate ongoing learning for nurses. Int J Psychiatr Nurs Res 2005; 10(2):1117-1128.

Abstract: There is general consensus within the nursing profession that life-long learning is crucial for all nurses irrespective of their educational backgrounds. There currently is a paucity of literature addressing both the problems experienced in accessing and utilising continuing education or innovative programs designed to overcome these problems, despite widespread acknowledgement of the problems encountered. In this paper the findings from the evaluation of the Clinician-Trainer Program*, developed by the Centre for Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice (CPNRP) are presented. This includes an evaluation of the course itself and of its impact on clinical practice. The findings suggest a high level of satisfaction with the course, but more importantly, it appears to be assisting trained clinicians to deliver professional development sessions within their workplace.

Pubmed link
Reprint requests: Brenda Happell, Centre for Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice, School of Postgraduate Nursing University of Melbourne,

Carlton

Victoria

3010
E-mail: bhappell@nursingunimelb.edu