An Innovative Needs Assessment Approach to Develop Relevant Continuing Professional Development for Psychiatrists.

OBJECTIVES: Gaps in psychiatrists' competence can interfere with the delivery of optimal patient care, particularly when these gaps have not been identified. This study aimed to assess the perceived and unperceived continuing professional development needs of psychiatrists practicing in Quebec, Canada. METHODS: The authors sent an online cross-sectional survey (2018) to members of the 'Association des médecins psychiatres du Québec' and collected data on unperceived needs via the critical incident method (focused on managing challenging clinical cases/situations). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, thematic analysis, and triangulation of data. Two coders independently analyzed qualitative data. RESULTS: Of 1150 eligible psychiatrists, 187 (16%) completed the survey. Over half were female (58%), caring for adult patients (60%), and practiced in a university hospital (49%). Top perceived and unperceived learning need areas were neurodevelopmental disorders and psychopharmacology. Three hundred forty-three factors influencing the management of reported challenges were classified as case complexity (53%), patient (22%), environment (19%), and lack of knowledge (4%). Consultation with colleagues (49%) was the most frequently accessed resource for approaching challenging cases. During the previous year and across both self-directed and group learning activities, respondents reported engaging more frequently in in-person than online activities. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive needs assessment integrating perceived and unperceived needs is the cornerstone for planning relevant continuing professional development. The critical incident method is a useful tool to assess psychiatrists' unperceived needs. Critical reflection after solving complex clinical cases might provide an opportunity to optimize psychiatrists' selection of relevant continuing professional development.

Patient Safety and Quality of Care are Everybody's Business: Evaluating the Impact of a Continuing Professional Development Program beyond Satisfaction.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background Research integrating Continuing Professional Development (CPD) with patient safety (PS) and quality improvement (QI) is still in its infancy despite advocacy by leaders in the field. Objectives This theory-driven study explored the feasibility to implement and evaluate the impact of a CPD intervention focused on teaching and practicing PS and QI at the levels of satisfaction, usefulness, knowledge, confidence, intention to change behaviour and reported changes in practice. Methods Three workshops targeting healthcare professionals were delivered live between 2014 and 2016. Data was collected longitudinally through four questionnaires and analyzed with descriptive statistics and triangulation of sources. Thematic analysis of qualitative data was guided by the Theoretical Domains Framework. Results Sixty-seven healthcare professionals participated in the study. Across workshops, satisfaction was high and a significant increase in knowledge and confidence were reported immediately post-intervention. Intention to change behavior was high across workshops. 'Moral norm' and ' beliefs about consequences' were consistently rated as the most influential factors in participants' intention to change behavior while ' social influence' was consistently rated as the least influential. At the workshops, participants anticipated improving communication, increasing their knowledge on PS-QI, applying content learned and building teamwork. Commonly anticipated barriers to implementation included lack of resources, environmental stressors, and the organizational climate/culture. These barriers were confirmed six-month post where participants reported partially implementing 78% (18/23) anticipated goals. Conclusions This study showed the feasibility to develop and implement an effective CPD intervention supporting healthcare professionals' knowledge, confidence, and reported change in teaching and practicing PS-QI.