Abstract
BackgroundThere are increasing expectations on primary care doctors to shoulder a bigger share of care for patients with common dermatological problems in the community. This study examined the learning outcomes of a short postgraduate course in dermatology for primary care doctors.MethodsA self-reported questionnaire developed by the research team was sent to the Course graduates. A retrospective design was adopted to compare their clinical practice characteristics before and after the Course. Differences in the ratings were analysed using the nonparametric Wilcoxon signed rank test to evaluate the effectiveness of the Course in various aspects.ResultsSixty-nine graduates replied with a response rate of 42.9% (69/161). Most were confident of diagnosing (91.2%) and managing (88.4%) common dermatological problems after the Course, compared to 61.8% and 58.0% respectively before the Course. Most had also modified their approach and increased their attention to patients with dermatological problems. The number of patients with dermatological problems seen by the graduates per day showed significant increase after the Course, while the average percentage of referrals to dermatologists dropped from 31.9% to 23.5%. The proportion of graduates interested in following up patients with chronic dermatological problems increased from 60.3% to 77.9%.ConclusionsGraduates of the Course reported improved confidence, attitudes and skills in treating common dermatological problems. They also reported to handle more patients with common dermatological problems in their practice and refer fewer patients.
Highlights
There are increasing expectations on primary care doctors to shoulder a bigger share of care for patients with common dermatological problems in the community [4,5]
Studies showed that primary care doctors exhibited improvements in clinical practices, patient care and lifelong learning interest after completing postgraduate courses [16,17]
Majority (82.5%) of the respondents were primary care doctors working in the community, and the remaining few were working in the specialties of internal medicine and paediatrics within the hospital setting
Summary
There are increasing expectations on primary care doctors to shoulder a bigger share of care for patients with common dermatological problems in the community [4,5]. Studies showed that primary care doctors exhibited improvements in clinical practices, patient care and lifelong learning interest after completing postgraduate courses [16,17]. There is little information available in the literature on the possible effect of postgraduate training on improving the skills and confidence of primary care doctors in the care of patients with common dermatological problems as well as the rate of referrals to dermatologists [18,19]
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