Education research findings from physicians in Canada - implications for practice and public health outcomes

Introduction

The patient centered model of healthcare can be enhanced by improving upon one’s medical practice. Elements within this model include: caring for and deepening knowledge of oneself including reflection on actions, improving quality and safety, understanding community needs, exploring patient expectations, developing effective communication skills especially with ethnically diverse groups who have differing languages and cultural belief systems. The objectives of this study are to discover if physicians consider learning about these topics to be beneficial, then to compare across medical specialities and years in practice.   

Method and Participants

The participants were 278 physicians from a province of Canada. On average, the participants had 16 years of practice experience, covering various specialties, with family medicine the largest at 40%. Of this, 60% were male, and 80% were urban. Physicians were asked how useful learning about specific topics would be to improve their communications with patients from different cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds. The self-report measures were examined using mean differences among physician specialities and gender, as well as correlations with years in practice.

Results

Overall the participants rated highly (+50%) that learning about these specific topics would be useful and important for practice. Psychiatry recorded the highest overall mean differences for 3/6 items, followed by Paediatrics for 2/6 items. Family medicine recorded the highest overall mean for patient communication and interaction skills. Female physicians rated learning about patients’ health beliefs higher than males. Male physicians rated patient communication skills higher than females.  The correlations indicated that 2/6 variables were negatively related to years in practice.

Discussion

Patient involvement in their care is associated with better health outcomes. Physicians can gain greater depth and understanding of their patient’s life context and ways they manage illness, by engaging in lifelong professional development.  Similarly public health education for patients provides for a more beneficial two-way engagement.