Continuing Education and Patient Care Research

TLDR

Continuing education programs based on patient‑care research were explored by studying physicians’ responses to unexpected abnormalities in routine screening tests. The study employed a workshop conference, interns, and repeated newsletters, but these interventions did not enhance physicians’ responses. Most test abnormalities elicited no physician response, but covering abnormal data with removable fluorescent tape markedly improved responses, with over half sustained six months after tape removal, demonstrating the value of integrating patient‑care research into continuing education.

Abstract

The feasibility of developing continuing education programs based on patient care research has been explored through a study of physician response to apparently unexpected abnormalities in three routine screening tests (urinalysis, fasting blood glucose, and hemoglobin). Initial assessment revealed no apparent response of any kind to approximately two thirds of these test abnormalities. A specially designed workshop conference, a full complement of interns, and repeated newsletter reminders failed to improve the quality or quantity of responses. Obscuring abnormal data on the laboratory slip with removable fluorescent tape resulted in significant improvement, more than half of which was maintained six months after use of the tape was discontinued. This study illustrates the complementary relationship between patient care research and continuing education that can be profitably integrated in programs to improve medical care.