Background

Healthcare providers’ attitudes toward sexual minorities influence patient comfort and outcomes. This study characterized medical student attitudes toward gay men, focusing on behavior, personhood, gay civil rights, and male toughness.

Methods

A cross-sectional web-based anonymous survey was sent to medical students enrolled at the University of California, Davis (N = 371) with a response rate of 68%.

Results

Few respondents expressed negative attitudes toward gay men or would deny them civil rights. More negative responses were seen with respect to aspects of intimate behavior and homosexuality as a natural form of sexual expression. Men and students younger than 25 years old were more likely to endorse negative attitudes toward behavior as well as more traditional views on male toughness.

Conclusions

We show that an important minority of students express discomfort with the behavior of gay men and hold to a narrow construction of male identity. These findings suggest that competency training must move beyond conceptual discussions and address attitudes toward behaviors through new pedagogical approaches.

Background

The completeness of hospital discharge summaries may reflect the overall quality of inter-professional communications. The effect of reducing resident workload on clinical performance is largely unknown.

Objective

We examined the impact of reducing housestaff workload on the quality of discharge summaries, an indicator of clinical performance, as compared to discharge summaries created by trainees on a team with a more typical workload.

Design

Patients admitted to a medicine service at a community teaching hospital affiliated with an academic medical center were alternately allocated between a control and intervention care team of residents. First-year residents on the intervention team carried an average census of 3.5 patients compared with 6.6 patients for peers on the control team. A random selection of 142 discharge summaries from a 3-month period were blindly evaluated using a structured tool based on professional documentation standards.

Participants

61 internal medicine residents.

Main Results

Inter-rater reliability of discharge summary quality was 0.9. Discharge summaries produced by residents on the intervention team with a reduced workload had significantly more of the required elements (74 vs 65%, p < 0.001). Intervention team summaries were more frequently complete and contained significantly more of the required elements describing the patient history (65.7% vs 36.1%, p = 0.0005), the inpatient narrative (47.1% vs 22.2%, p = 0.003), discharge planning (20.0% vs 5.5%, p = 0.012), and continuity of care (24.3% vs 6.9%, p = 0.005). Fewer than a quarter of the summaries reviewed included discharge instructions, information on follow-up care, or a discharge medication list.

Conclusions

Reducing resident workload can significantly improve discharge summary quality, a measure of resident performance.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11606-010-1465-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background

Procedural skill is predicated on knowledge. We used a previously validated test to evaluate the impact of a web-based education program on medical residents' knowledge of 2 advanced medical procedures.

Methods

We enrolled 210 internal medicine residents at 3 residency programs in a randomized, controlled, educational trial. Study participants completed a 20-item, validated online test of their knowledge of central venous and arterial line (CVL and AL, respectively) placement at baseline and after performing their next 2 procedures (test 1 and test 2). Between test 1 and test 2, participants were randomized to online educational material for CVL insertion, AL insertion, both, or neither. The primary outcome of the study was the difference in test scores between test 1 and test 2 by randomization group.

Results

Though residents in the baseline cohort were confident about their knowledge of procedural technique, their mean test scores were low (62% and 58% in the CVL and AL tests, respectively). Baseline test score correlated with the number of prior procedures performed. Sixty-five residents completed all 3 CVL tests, and 85 residents completed all 3 AL tests. Access to the web-based procedure education was associated with a significant improvement in scores for both the CVL test (effect size, d  =  0.25, P  =  .01) and AL test (d  =  0.52, P < .001).

Conclusions

Web-based procedure training improves knowledge of procedures to a significantly greater extent than performing the procedure alone. Web-based curricula can effectively supplement other methods of skill development.

Background

This article investigated how changes in diabetes distress relate to receiving care management through an Internet-based care management (IBCM) program for diabetes and level of participation in this program. Further, it examined the relationship between diabetes distress and changes in glycemic control.

Methods

We enrolled patients of the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System with diabetes who had hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels of ≥9.0%. Subjects were randomized to usual care (n = 52) or IBCM (n = 52) for 1 year. We measured diabetes distress at baseline and quarterly thereafter using the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) questionnaire. Glycemic control was determined by baseline and quarterly HbA1c. For subjects randomized to IBCM, we measured participation by observing frequency and consistency of their usage of the IBCM patient portal over 12 months. Linear mixed models were used to analyze THE data.

Results

PAID scores declined over time for both treatment groups. Among subjects randomized to IBCM, the decline in PAID scores over time was significant for sustained users of the IBCM patient portal but not for nonusers. Moreover, subjects whose usage of the patient portal was sustained throughout the study had lower PAID scores at baseline. With respect to changes in glycemic control, HbA1c reduced individual differences in PAID scores by 44%; a lower baseline HbA1c was associated with lower baseline PAID scores, and over time, the decrease in HbA1c was associated with further decreases in the PAID score.

Conclusions

Participation in IBCM varies by initial diabetes distress, with people with less distress participating more. For people who participate, IBCM further mitigates diabetes distress. There is also a relationship between achievements in glycemic control and subsequent lowering of diabetes distress. Future research should identify how to maximize fit between patient needs and the provisions of IBCM, with the aim of increasing patient engagement in the active management of their health using this care modality. A key to maximizing fit might be first addressing metabolic control aggressively and then using IBCM for sustainment of health.

Background

Patient safety is a core educational topic for medical trainees.

Objectives

To determine the current level and determinants of patient safety knowledge in medical trainees.

Design

Multi-institutional cross-sectional assessment of patient safety knowledge.

Participants

Residents and medical students from seven Harvard-affiliated residencies and two Harvard Medical School courses.

Measurements

Participants were administered a 14-item validated test instrument developed based on the patient safety curriculum of the Risk Management Foundation (Cambridge, MA). The primary outcome measure was the amount of patient safety knowledge demonstrated by trainees on the validated test instrument. The secondary outcome measure was their subjective perceptions as to their baseline knowledge level in this domain.

Results

Ninety-two percent (640/693) of residents and medical students completed the patient safety test. Participants correctly answered a mean 58.4% of test items (SD 15.5%). Univariate analyses show that patient safety knowledge levels varied significantly by year of training (p = 0.001), degree program (p < 0.001), specialty (p < 0.001), country of medical school (p = 0.006), age (p < 0.001), and gender (p = 0.050); all but the latter two determinants remained statistically significant in multivariate models. In addition, trainees were unable to assess their own knowledge deficiencies in this domain.

Conclusions

Patient safety knowledge is limited among medical trainees across a broad range of training levels, degrees, and specialties. Effective educational interventions that target deficiencies in patient safety knowledge are greatly needed.

Objective

To assess the effects of web-based care management on glucose and blood pressure control over 12 months in patients with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus.

Research Design and Methods

104 patients with diabetes mellitus and hemoglobin A1c ≥ 9.0% who received their care at a VA medical center were recruited. All participants completed a diabetes education class and were randomized to continue with usual care (n = 52) or receive web-based care management (n = 52). The care management group received a notebook computer, glucose and blood pressure monitoring devices and access to a care management website. The website provided educational modules, accepted uploads from monitoring devices, and had an internal messaging system for patients to communicate with the care manager.

Results

Participants receiving web-based care management had lower hemoglobin A1c over 12 months (P<0.05) when compared to education and usual care. Persistent website users had greater improvement in hemoglobin A1c when compared to intermittent users (−1.9% vs. −1.2%, P=0.051) or education and usual care (−1.4%, P<0.05). Greater numbers of website data uploads were associated with larger declines in hemoglobin A1c (highest tertile −2.1%, lowest tertile: −1.0%, P<0.02). Hypertensive participants in the web-based care management group had a greater reduction in systolic blood pressure (P<0.01). HDL cholesterol rose and triglycerides fell in the web-based care management group (P<0.05).

Conclusions

Web-based care management may be a useful adjunct in the care of patients with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus.

Context

The reliance on physical examination as a diagnostic aid is in decline.

Objective

To determine whether an educational program can increase the use of physical examination by medical residents.

Design and Participants

A series of educational workshops were provided to 47 second- and third-year medical residents at a large academic teaching hospital.

Measurements

Interns and students reported the frequency and depth of clinical examination performance on morning rounds by their residents before and up to six months after the workshops. Behavior before and after the workshops was compared using a mixed model.

Results

A total of 374 reports were returned (77% response). After adjusting for the type of service and observer, there was a statistically significant 23% increase (P=.02) in the performance of physical examination among residents who attended the course. Residents significantly increased the fraction of patients they examined on rounds (absolute increase 11%, P=.002) but did not increase the depth of their examination. The change was greatest on general medical teams, among whom the performance of physical examination had been least frequent. Teaching and feedback events on medicine teams by residents to their interns (2.8 and 1.1 events per 2 weeks, respectively) and medical students (5.9 and 2.8 events per 2 weeks, respectively) remained infrequent.

Conclusions

A skills improvement program can significantly increase the frequency of physical examination, but teaching and feedback events remain sporadic and infrequent.