'Trying to fly the plane while we were building it'. Applying a learning health systems approach to evaluate early-stage barriers and facilitators to implementing primary care transformation: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: A learning health system (LHS) uses data to generate evidence and answer questions required to continually improve system performance and patient care. Given the complexities of practice transformation, an area where LHS is particularly important is the study of primary care transformation (PCT) as PCT generates several practice-level questions that require study where the findings can be readily implemented. In May 2019, a large integrated health delivery system in Minnesota began implementation of a population management PCT in two of its 40 primary care clinics. In this model of care, patients are grouped into one of five service bundles based on their complexity of care; patient appointment lengths and services provided are then tailored to each service bundle. The objective of this study was to examine the use of a LHS in PCT by utilising the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to categorise implementation lessons from the initial two PCT clinics to inform further implementation of the PCT within the health system. DESIGN: This was a formative evaluation in which semistructured qualitative interviews were carried out. Observational field notes were also taken. Inductive coding of the data was performed and resultant codes were mapped to the CFIR. SETTING: Two suburban primary care clinics in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-two care team members from the first two clinics to adopt the PCT. RESULTS: Seventeen codes emerged to describe care team members' perceived implementation influences. Codes occurred in each of the five CFIR domains (intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of individuals and process), with most codes occurring in the 'inner setting' domain. CONCLUSIONS: Using an LHS approach to determine early-stage implementation influences is key to guiding further PCT implementation, understanding modifications that need to be made and additional research that needs to occur.

Coronary artery disease surveillance among childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer survivors: A systematic review and recommendations from the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a concerning late outcome for cancer survivors. However, uniform surveillance guidelines are lacking. AIM: To harmonise international recommendations for CAD surveillance for survivors of childhood, adolescent and young adult (CAYA) cancers. METHODS: A systematic literature review was performed and evidence graded using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria. Eligibility included English language studies, a minimum of 20 off-therapy cancer survivors assessed for CAD, and 75% diagnosed prior to age 35 years. All study designs were included, and a multidisciplinary guideline panel formulated and graded recommendations. RESULTS: 32 of 522 identified articles met eligibility criteria. The prevalence of CAD ranged from 0 to 72% and was significantly increased compared to control populations. The risk of CAD was increased among survivors who received radiotherapy exposing the heart, especially at doses ≥15 Gy (moderate-quality evidence). The guideline panel agreed that healthcare providers and CAYA cancer survivors treated with radiotherapy exposing the heart should be counselled about the increased risk for premature CAD. While the evidence is insufficient to support primary screening, monitoring and early management of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors are recommended. Initiation and frequency of surveillance should be based on the intensity of treatment exposures, family history, and presence of co-morbidities but at least by age 40 years and at a minimum of every 5 years. All were strong recommendations. CONCLUSION: These systematically assessed and harmonised recommendations for CAD surveillance will inform care and guide research concerning this critical outcome for CAYA cancer survivors.

Pediatrics milestone project: next steps toward meaningful outcomes assessment.

In the September 2010 issue of JGME, the Pediatric Milestones Working Group published "The Pediatrics Milestones: Conceptual Framework, Guiding Principles, and Approach to Development", a document that describes the construction of the first iteration of the Pediatric Milestones. These Milestones were developed by the Working Group as a group of practical behavioral expectations for each of the 52 sub-competencies. In constructing these Milestones, the authors were cognizant of the need to ground the Milestones themselves in evidence, theories or other conceptual frameworks that would provide the basis for the ontogeny of development for each sub-competency. During this next phase of the Milestones development, the process will continue with consultation with content experts and consideration of assessment of Milestones. We have described possible measurement tools, explored threats to validity, establishment of benchmarks, and possible approaches to reporting of performance. The vision of the Pediatrics Milestone Project is to understand the development of a pediatrician from entry into medical school through the twilight of a physician's career, and the work will require a collaborative effort of the undergraduate and graduate medical education communities, and the accrediting and certifying bodies.

The pediatrics milestones: conceptual framework, guiding principles, and approach to development.

BACKGROUND: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) have partnered to initiate the Pediatrics Milestone Project to further refine the 6 ACGME competencies and to set performance standards as part of the continued commitment to document outcomes of training and program effectiveness. INTERVENTION: Members of the Pediatrics Milestone Project Working Group searched the medical literature and beyond to create a synopsis of models and evidence for a developmental ontogeny of the elements for 52 subcompetencies. For each subcompetency, we created a series of Milestones, grounded in the literature. The milestones were vetted with the entire working group, engaging in an iterative process of revisions until reaching consensus that their narrative descriptions (1) included all critical elements, (2) were behaviorally based, (3) were properly sequenced, and (4) represented the educational continuum of training and practice. OUTCOMES: We have completed the first iteration of milestones for all subcompetencies. For each milestone, a synopsis of relevant literature provides background, references, and a conceptual framework. These milestones provide narrative descriptions of behaviors that represent the ontogeny of knowledge, skill, and attitude development across the educational continuum of training and practice. DISCUSSION: The pediatrics milestones take us a step closer to meaningful outcome assessment. Next steps include undertaking rigorous study, making appropriate modifications, and setting performance standards. Our aim is to assist program directors in making more reliable and valid judgments as to whether a resident is a "good doctor" and to provide outcome evidence regarding the program's success in developing doctors.

From the educational bench to the clinical bedside: translating the Dreyfus developmental model to the learning of clinical skills.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Outcome Project has shifted the focus of residents' education to competency-based outcomes of learning. The challenge of meaningful assessment of learner competence has stimulated interest in the Dreyfus and Dreyfus Model, a framework for assessing skill acquisition that describes developmental stages beginning with novice and progressing through advanced beginner, competent, proficient, expert, and master. Many educators have adopted this model, but no consensus about its adaptation to clinical medicine has been documented. In this article, the authors seek to integrate generally accepted knowledge and beliefs about how one learns to practice clinical medicine into a coherent developmental framework using the Dreyfus and Dreyfus model of skill acquisition. Using the general domain of patient care, the characteristics and skills of learners at each stage of development are translated into typical behaviors. A tangible picture of this model in real-world practice is provided through snapshots of typical learner performance at discrete moments in time along the developmental continuum. The Dreyfus and Dreyfus model is discussed in the context of other developmental models of assessment of learner competence. The limitations of the model, in particular the controversy around the behaviors of "experts," are discussed in light of other interpretations of expertise in the literature. Support for descriptive developmental models of assessment is presented in the context of a discussion of the deconstructing versus reconstructing of competencies.

Effects of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education work hour restrictions on medical student experience.

BACKGROUND: Residents have a major role in teaching students, yet little has been written about the effects of resident work hour restrictions on medical student education. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine the effects of resident work hour restrictions on medical student education. DESIGN: We compared student responses pre work hour restrictions with those completed post work hour restrictions. PARTICIPANTS: Students on required Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Pediatric clerkships at the University of Minnesota. MEASUREMENTS: Two thousand eight hundred twenty-five student responses on end-of-clerkship surveys. RESULTS: Students reported 1.6 more hours per week of teaching by residents (95%CI 0.8-2.6) in the post work hours era. Students' ratings of the overall quality of their teaching on the ward did not change appreciably, 0.05 points' decline on a 5-point scale (P = .05). Like the residents, students worked fewer hours per week (avg. 1.5 hours less, 95%CI 0.4-2.6). There was no change in quality or quantity of attending teaching, students' relationships with their patients, or the overall value of the clerkships. CONCLUSIONS: Whereas resident duty hour restrictions at our institution have had minimal effect on students' ratings of the overall teaching quality, they do report being taught more by their residents. This may be a factor of decreased resident fatigue or an increased sense of well-being; but more study is needed to clarify the causes of our observations.

Comparing rural-trained medical students with their peers: performance in a primary care OSCE.

BACKGROUND: Although it is well-established and considered successful, there is limited data on how the graduates of a Minnesota rural medical education program (Rural Physician Associate Program [RPAP]) compare with their peers. PURPOSE: To compare the performance of RPAP students with their peers on a primary care observed structured clinical examination (OSCE). METHODS: The performances of RPAP students and a group of non-RPAP Year 4 medical students were compared on the same OSCE. RESULTS: RPAP students performed at least as well as their peers on stations assessing performance on common primary care clinical scenarios but not as well on a small number of stations that assessed applied knowledge of specific content taught in the traditional clerkship curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: We provide evidence that rurally trained students at this institution performed at least as well as their peers on OSCE stations testing performance in common primary care scenarios. The broader implications of this study are that medical students may receive high-quality training in rural communities, as documented by their performance on an objective structured clinical examination.