Document Detail


Lack of association between resident doctors' well-being and medical knowledge.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21091761     Owner:  NLM     Status:  In-Process    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVES: Resident doctors' (residents) well-being impacts on the medical care they provide. Despite the high prevalence of resident doctors' distress, the relationship between their well-being and the specific competencies defined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education is poorly understood. We evaluated the association of resident well-being with medical knowledge as assessed on both a standardised test of general medical knowledge and at the end of web-based courses on a series of focused topics.
METHODS: We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study of associations between well-being and medical knowledge scores over time for internal medicine residents from July 2004 to June 2007. Well-being measures included linear analogue self-assessment (LASA) scales measuring quality of life (including overall quality of life, mental, physical and emotional well-being, and fatigue), the Medical Outcome Study Eight-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-8) assessment of mental and physical well-being, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the PRIME-MD two-item depression screen. We also measured empathy using the perspective taking and empathic concern subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Medical knowledge measures included scores on web-based learning module post-tests and scores on the national Internal Medicine In-Training Examination (IM-ITE). As data for each association were available for at least 126 residents, this study was powered to detect a small-to-moderate effect size of 0.3 standard deviations.
RESULTS: No statistically significant associations were observed between well-being and either web-based learning module post-test score or IM-ITE score. Parameter estimates of the association of well-being variables with knowledge scores were uniformly small. For all well-being metrics, meaningful differences were associated with knowledge score difference estimates of < 1 percentage point.
CONCLUSIONS: Resident well-being appears to have limited association with competence in medical knowledge as assessed following web-based courses on specific topics or using standardised general medical examinations.
Authors:
Colin P West; Tait D Shanafelt; David A Cook
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Medical education     Volume:  44     ISSN:  1365-2923     ISO Abbreviation:  Med Educ     Publication Date:  2010 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-11-24     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7605655     Medline TA:  Med Educ     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1224-31     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
© Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010.
Affiliation:
Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. west.colin@mayo.edu
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