How to strengthen basic competencies in self-care - a pre-post interventional study with postgraduate trainees in family medicine in Germany.

Introduction: Self-care includes taking care of our psychosocial health. Many experts agree that self-care should be included in training for Family Medicine (FM) residents, though it is unclear to what extent and by what means. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate competencies of FM residents in self-care and changes in knowledge, skills and attitudes after an educational compact intervention.Methods: The authors performed a pre-post comparison on residents who were registered in the FM residency program KWBW VerbundweiterbildungPLUS© (n = 401). FM residents were offered participation in a self-care training (270 minutes featuring a broad spectrum of input and practical experience). The intervention group (IG) completed a questionnaire directly before the seminar (T1) and 10 weeks afterwards (T2). Non-attendees (=control group; CG) were asked to fill out a basic questionnaire once. Basic questionnaires for IG and CG covered previous experiences and skills while the follow-up questionnaire at T2 also focused on change of competencies and attitudes. All questionnaires contained free-text questions to capture qualitative impressions.Results: 287 FM residents (IG: n = 212; CG: n = 75) participated in the study. Generally, 86.4% of FM residents had worried that their profession might endanger their personal health (T1: n = 180, CG: n = 68). At T2, 59.5% of IG (n = 66/111) declared that they would not worry about their personal health anymore (T1:T2, p < .01). IG learned to facilitate time for recreation (T1:T2, p = .04) and to use relaxation techniques (T1:T2, p = .01). Gain in competence was described in awareness of stress, self-reward, activation of personal resources, and time management. A total of 85.6% of IG reflected their attitudes towards psychosocial health of physicians in general (n = 95/111) and 22.5% of IG changed the views on their own health (n = 25/111) in terms of improved risk-awareness, increased intention for self-care and change of behavior.Conclusion: A compact intervention in self-care strengthens competencies, increases awareness, and helps FM residents identify their psychosocial health risks. Further research is necessary to specify the effectiveness of similar compact interventions in self-care and their long-term results.

Work strain and burnout risk in postgraduate trainees in general practice: an overview.

Primary care physicians (general practitioners (GPs)) are burdened for various reasons and are particularly affected by stress-related complaints and an increasing prevalence of burnout. Thus, the prevention of physician burnout has become a major interest for health care services. Although many studies have addressed this issue in recent years, little seems to be known about the work strain and burnout rates in GP trainees. Therefore the objective of this article is to review the psychosocial burden and relevant prevention strategies for GPs with a special emphasis on GP trainees. Regardless of the specialty, burnout is more prevalent among medical trainees and so-called 'early career' physicians than among the age-matched population. Accordingly, burnout seems to be frequent among GP trainees, although there is some evidence that there are fewer doctors working in general medicine who were already heavily burdened at the time of choosing their career. The sudden assumption of responsibility in patient care as well as the fear of showing imperfection in front of their supervisors, or lack of recognition from senior doctors, the medical team, or patients might be stressors typical to this career stage. GP trainees might also feel burdened by the new level of personal involvement and thus have to develop or increase their individual level of professionality to deal with the patients' medical and personal problems. In conclusion, interventions to promote physical and mental health of GP trainees are a necessity to ensure passionate GPs in the future and should therefore be integrated into any postgraduate training curriculum in general practice.

Peer-assisted learning (PAL): skills lab tutors' experiences and motivation.

BACKGROUND: Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is a common teaching and learning method in medical education worldwide. In the setting of skills laboratories (skills labs), student tutors are often employed as an equivalent alternative to faculty teachers. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of qualitative studies which explore the reasons for the personal commitment of student tutors. The aim of our study was to examine how undergraduate students experienced and evaluated their roles as skills lab student tutors, what their motivation was, and whether social and cognitive congruence played a role in their teaching experiences. METHODS: We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with student tutors who were currently teaching in a skills lab. After the interviews had been transcribed verbatim, two independent investigators performed a qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. RESULTS: In total, we conducted nine interviews with student tutors. Our results revealed that all student tutors showed great enthusiasm and motivation for their jobs as peer teachers. One of the main motivating factors for student tutors to teach in a skills lab was the possibility to simultaneously share and improve their knowledge and expertise. In general, the participants of our study had high aspirations for their teaching. They found it particularly important to be empathetic with the student learners. At the same time, they thought they would personally benefit from their teaching activities and develop a certain expertise as student tutors. CONCLUSIONS: With the present study we are able to gain some insight into what motivates student tutors to teach in a skills lab and what kind of experiences they have. Our results provide an important input for the future training of highly qualified student tutors.

Practical Clinical Training in Skills Labs: Theory and Practice.

Today, skills laboratories or "skills labs", i.e. specific practical skill training facilities, are a firmly established part of medical education offering the possibility of training clinical procedures in a safe and fault-forging environment prior to real life application at bedside or in the operating room. Skills lab training follows a structured teaching concept, takes place under supervision and in consideration of methodological-didactic concepts, ideally creating an atmosphere that allows the repeated, anxiety- and risk-free practice of targeted skills. In this selective literature review, the first section is devoted to (I) the development and dissemination of the skills lab concept. There follows (II) an outline of the underlying idea and (III) an analysis of key efficacy factors. Thereafter, (IV) the training method's effectiveness and transference are illuminated, before (V) the use of student tutors, in the sense of peer-assisted-learning, in skills labs is discussed separately. Finally, (VI) the efficiency of the skills lab concept is analyzed, followed by an outlook on future developments and trends in the field of skills lab training.

Students' Perceptions on an Interprofessional Ward Round Training - A Qualitative Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: Ward rounds are an essential activity for interprofessional teams in hospital settings and represent complex tasks requiring not only medical knowledge but also communication skills, clinical technical skills, patient management skills and team-work skills. The present study aimed to analyse final year students', nurses' as well as physiotherapists' views on a simulation-based interprofessional ward round training. METHODS: In two successive passes a total number of 29 final year students, nursing students and physiotherapy students (16 in the first run, 13 in the second) volunteered to participate in two standardized patient ward round scenarios: (1) patient with myocardial infarction, and (2) patient with poorly controlled diabetes. Views on the interprofessional ward round training were assessed using focus groups. RESULTS: Focus group based feedback contained two main categories (A) ward round training benefits and (B) difficulties. Positive aspects enfolded course preparation, setting of the training, the involvement of the participants during training and the positive learning atmosphere. Difficulties were seen in the flawed atmosphere and realization of ward rounds in the daily clinical setting with respect to inter-professional aspects, and course benefit for the different professional groups. CONCLUSION: The presented inter-professional ward round training represents a well received and valuable model of interprofessional learning. Further research should assess its effectiveness, processes of interprofessional interplay and transfer into clinical practice.

Video-based on-ward supervision for final year medical students.

BACKGROUND: Constructive feedback is an essential element of the educational process, helping trainees reach their maximum potential and increasing their skill level. Video-based feedback has been described as highly effective in various educational contexts. The present study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of video-based, on-ward supervision for final year students in a clinical context with real patients. METHODS: Nine final year medical students (three male, six female; aged 25.1 ± 0.7 years) and eight patients (five male, three female; aged 59.3 ± 16.8 years) participated in the pilot study. Final year students performed routine medical procedures at bedside on internal medicine wards at the University of Heidelberg Medical Hospital. Students were filmed and were under supervision. After performing the procedures, an oral feedback loop was established including student, patient and supervisor feedback on communicative and procedural aspects of skills performed. Finally, students watched their video, focusing on specific teachable moments mentioned by the supervisor. Written evaluations and semi-structured interviews were conducted that focused on the benefits of video-based, on-ward supervision. Interviews were analysed qualitatively, using open coding to establish recurring themes and overarching categories to describe patients' and students' impressions. Descriptive, quantitative analysis was used for questionnaire data. RESULTS: Supervised, self-chosen skills included history taking (n = 6), physical examination (n = 1), IV cannulation (n = 1), and ECG recording (n = 1). The video-based, on-ward supervision was well accepted by patients and students. Supervisor feedback was rated as highly beneficial, with the video material providing an additional opportunity to focus on crucial aspects and to further validate the supervisor's feedback. Students felt the video material would be less beneficial without the supervisor's feedback. The setting was rated as realistic, with filming not influencing behaviour. CONCLUSION: Video-based, on-ward supervision may be a powerful tool for improving clinical medical education. However, it should be regarded as an additional tool in combination with supervisors' oral feedback. Acceptance was high in both students and patients. Further research should address possibilities of efficiently combining and routinely establishing these forms of feedback in medical education.