Regulation Of Health Professionals Research Articles

Demographic changes in Australia's regulated health professions: 6-year trends.

ObjectiveStudies of Australian health workforce demographics tend to be limited to single professions, a set geographic area, or based on incomplete data. This study aims to comprehensively describe changes to the demographic characteristics of Australia's regulated health professions over 6 years.MethodsData were sourced from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) registration database, and a retrospective analysis of 15 of the 16 regulated health professions between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2021 was conducted. Variables including profession, age, gender and state/territory locations for the practitioners' principal places of practice were analysed descriptively and via appropriate statistical tests.ResultsChanges in age, gender representation, and place of practice varied significantly and in different ways across the 15 professions. The total number of registered health practitioners increased by 141 161 (22%) from 2016 to 2021. The number of registered health practitioners per 100 000 population increased by 14% from 2016, with considerable variation across the professions. In 2021, women accounted for 76.3% of health practitioners across the 15 health professions, a significant increase of 0.5% points since 2016.ConclusionsChanges to demographics, especially in ageing workforces and feminising professions, can have implications for workforce planning and sustainability. Future research could build on this demographic trend data by investigating causes or undertaking workforce supply or demand modelling.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCES AND CONTENT OF THE UNDEGRADUATE PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMMES IN EUROPE

Sufficient number of competent public health professionals are an important prerequisit for the normalfunctioning of the health systems. At present, the number and type of institutions carrying out undergraduate educationand training in public health varies broadly both in Europe and the USA. There is a lack of clarity on how much therequirements for professional public health competencies are covered by the content of undergraduate public healthprograms in Europe. Purpose: To analyse the content of Bachelor Public Health programmes in Europe, in relation tothe requirements for professional competences introduced by ASPHER in 2014 (Association of Schools of PublicHealth in the European Region). Methods: An online questionnaire was developed and distributed via the Internetplatform Google Forms to 214 universities in Europe. The electronic survey included 50 questions clarifyingavailability of study subjects and topics from 7 main areas of competences proposed by ASPHER: Methods in PublicHealth; Population Health and Determinants; Health Policy; Economics and Management; Health Education andHealth Promotion; Interdisciplinary subjects; Practical Training and Others. Similar information was extracted from theeducational documentation accessible from the web pages of 74 higher educational institutions offering undergraduateprograms in public health from 19 European countries. Results: Information for 59 undergraduate public healthprogrammes was retrieved, 45 from west and 14 from east Europe. Subjects related to “Health Inequalities”, “GlobalHealth”, “Information Technologies”, “Ageing”, “Leadership”, “Genomics” are available in less than 50% of theprogrammes in both west and east Europe. There is a clear difference between west and east programmes in someaspects. In the central focus of training in PH in Bulgaria and the countries from Eastern Europe are the specializedprevention disciplines related to hygiene and epidemiology of communicable diseases and a considerable number ofclinical disciplines. The latter are less presented in the training in Western European programmes, which are moreoriented towards health policy and management. Conclusions: There is a significant variation in the content and as aresult the professional competences provided by the undergraduate PH education programmes in Europe. Both westand east European undergraduate PH programmes fail to address adequately the present global challenges in the areastarting with existing health inequalities. Recommendation: There is an urgent need for regulation of public health as abasic regulated health profession in the European Union, which will entail standardization of the content of thebachelor education and will stimulate the recognition and the importance of the profession across Europe as well.

The Emperors' new clothes: The socialisation and regulation of health professions

In the context of the state regulation of a number of health professions in Aotearoa New Zealand (under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 ), this article presents a sociological narrative about how certain professional groups have developed their identity and been granted state recognition. The article identifies and discusses four mechanisms by which professions both socialise their practitioners and are themselves socialised: acculturation, assimilation, colonisation, and marginalisation. This story of how practitioners have defined and organised themselves, and when and how they gained their legally conferred status, illustrates both significant policy developments in the organisation and provision of health care services in this country, and how different health professions view their relationship to the state and to one another. The discussion offers a cautionary tale for health practitioners in other countries seeking increasing professionalisation, and for professional associations seeking increased regulation.

Pan-Canadian Registration and Licensure of Health Professionals: A Path Forward Emerging from a Best Brains Exchange Policy Dialogue.

The regulation of health professions differs across Canadian provinces and territories, often resulting in an unstandardized approach to licensure and registration. These siloed regulatory frameworks hinder health workforce mobility and virtual care – with implications for patient safety and equitable access to healthcare – and pose a barrier to integrated health workforce planning. The authors report on a Best Brains Exchange policy dialogue held in October 2019 on pan-Canadian registration and licensure (CIHR 2019), highlighting leading practices and presenting a potential path forward through pan-Canadian regulatory mechanisms. Situating these findings within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the urgency for governments to move on this reform.

Qualität forensisch psychiatrischer und psychologischer Gutachten

The quality of court-ordered psychiatric and psychological evaluations has been the focus of substantial debate. The recent development of guidelines for writing expert reports, the improvement of forensic training opportunities for psychologists and psychiatrists and the implementation of a stricter regulation of mental health professionals admitted as experts in court have laid the groundwork for higher quality expert evaluations. Overall, the measures appear to yield a positive effect, although instances of questionable quality remain. The current review illustrates the potential for improvement and underlines the fact that all involved disciplines must act to ensure that only high-quality reports are used in court.

Finding space for kindness: public protection and health professional regulation.

Finding space for kindness: public protection and health professional regulation.

Are Australian Universities Perpetuating the Teaching of Racism in Their Undergraduate Nurses in Discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Courses? A Critical Race Document Analysis Protocol.

Systemic racism has a profound negative impact on the health outcomes of Australia’s First Nations peoples, hereafter referred to as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, where racism and white privilege have largely become normalised and socially facilitated. A national framework is being mobilised within the tertiary-level nursing curriculum to equip future health professionals with cultural capabilities to ensure culturally safe, equitable health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In 2019, nurses comprised more than half of all registered health professionals in Australia, and current national standards for nursing state that Australian universities should be graduating registered nurses capable of delivering care that is received as culturally safe. It is therefore critical to evaluate where learning objectives within nursing curricula may lead to the reinforcement and teaching of racist ideologies to nursing students. This protocol outlines a framework and methodology that will inform a critical race document analysis to evaluate how learning objectives assert the social construction of “race” as a tool of oppressive segregation. The document analysis will include each discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health course within all undergraduate nursing programs at Australian universities. The approach outlined within this protocol is developed according to an Indigenous research paradigm and Colonial Critical Race Theory as both the framework and methodology. The purpose of the framework is a means for improving health professional curriculum by reducing racism as highlighted in nation-wide strategies for curriculum reform.

Integrating Indigenous healing practices within collaborative care models in primary healthcare in Canada: a rapid scoping review

ObjectivesIn November 2020, a series of reports, In Plain Sight, described widespread Indigenous-specific stereotyping, racism and discrimination limiting access to medical treatment and negatively impacting the health and wellness of...

Evidence for Continuing Professional Development and Recency of Practice Standards for Regulated Health Professionals in Australia: Protocol for a Systematic Review.

BackgroundContinuing professional development (CPD) and recency of practice (ROP) standards are components of health practitioner regulation in Australia. The CPD and ROP standards are currently under review, and an evidence base to assist the development of consistent standards is required. Preliminary searching was unable to find a recent systematic review of the literature to provide an evidence base to underpin the standards review.ObjectiveThis paper presents the protocol for a systematic review that aims to develop a current evidence base that will support the National Boards to develop more consistent, evidence-based, effective standards that are clear and easy to understand and operationalize.MethodsResearch questions were developed to support the planned review of CPD and ROP registration standards. Major databases and relevant journals were searched for articles published in English between 2015 and 2021, using key search terms based on previous unpublished reviews of the CPD and ROP registration standards. The quality of the articles retrieved will be assessed using an instrument suitable for use in the development of public policy. The findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.ResultsIn September 2021, our search strategy identified 18,002 studies for the CPD-related research questions after removal of duplicates. Of these, 509 records were screened based on their title, and 66 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility based on their abstract, of which 31 met the inclusion criteria. A further 291 articles were identified as relevant to the ROP research questions. Of these, 87 records were screened based on their title, and 46 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility based on their abstract, of which 8 studies met our inclusion criteria.ConclusionsThis protocol outlines the scope and methodology that will be used to conduct a systematic review of evidence for CPD and ROP and inform a review of the standards for regulated health professionals in Australia. Previous research has shown that while CPD improves practitioner knowledge, the link to public safety is unclear. While there has been a greater focus on maintenance of certification and other quality assurance activities over the past 10 years, there remains great variability in CPD requirements across both professions and jurisdictions. ROP was found to be a poorly researched area with most research concentrating on medical practitioners, nurses, and midwives and no clear consensus about the optimal time period after which retraining or an assessment of competence should be introduced. As the CPD and ROP standards are currently under review, it is timely that a review of current evidence be undertaken.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/28625

Reaccreditation or recertification of general surgeons in Spain: That's the question. Results of a national survey

IntroductionThe Law for the Regulation of Health Professions (LOPS) indicates that health professionals will carry out continuous training throughout their professional life, and will regularly prove their professional competence. The objective of the study was to carry out a national survey to find out the opinion of Spanish surgeons and thus be able to prepare a recertification project by the Spanish Association of Surgeons. MethodsCross-sectional observational study carried out in June–July 2020, through a survey sent to the members of the Spanish Association of Surgeons. ResultsThe survey had a total of 1230 visits and an overall completion rate of 784 responses (67.3%). 69.6% were unaware of the LOPS forecasts and 83.4% were unaware of similar initiatives in other specialties and 95.5% agreed to demand adequate information. 71.4% believed it necessary but only 57% believed that it should be mandatory. 82.9% would agree that it should be regulated through an objective and predictable official procedure. ConclusionsThe concept of re-accreditation is not well known in our specialty and in view of the results obtained, adequate and reliable information seems necessary. Therefore, it would be pertinent to propose by the A.E.C. a specific project to assess activities and skills.

Patient safety attitudes in the next generation of healthcare providers. A review of the literature

Abstract Background A comprehensive understanding of the attitudes towards patient safety of the new generation of healthcare workers is fundamental not only for ensuring safe, high-quality care in the present but also for creating a safer healthcare setting in the future. This study aimed to systematically review the literature on patient safety attitudes of health professional students, new graduates, newly registered health professionals, and resident trainees, and to examine potential differences in this population with respect to year of study, specialty, and gender. Methods We searched four databases (i.e., PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycInfo) up to 20/02/2020 and screened also additional sources, including weekly, automatic e-mailed search alerts up to 18/10/2020. Two reviewers independently performed all methodological steps (i.e., search, study selection, quality appraisal, data extraction and formal narrative synthesis), including a third reviewer in case of disagreement. Results We identified 6606 records, assessed 188 full-texts, and included 31 articles. Across studies, healthcare students and young professionals reported more positive patient safety attitudes in certain domains (e.g., teamwork climate, error inevitability, received patient safety training) but showed more negative attitudes in other areas (e.g., management support, safety climate, disclosure responsibility). Women and persons with more years of study and training demonstrated more positive attitudes towards patient safety. Conclusions Healthcare students should receive early curricular education in patient safety to build a solid foundation for the development of a strong and healthy safety culture. Understanding the differences in attitudes between aspiring healthcare providers from different areas is important to tailor teaching and training to the specific needs of certain populations. Key messages According to the reviewed literature, young healthcare students and professionals’ attitudes towards patient safety differed across domains. Institutions should increase education and training on patient safety for aspiring healthcare professionals, tailor them to the specific needs of this population, and monitor attitudes over time.

Recent research into healthcare professions regulation: a rapid evidence assessment

Background and aimsOver the last decade, regulators have taken significant steps towards tackling perceptions that regulatory systems are burdensome. There has been much international research activity in the regulation of health and care professionals.This article reports a review of studies on health professions regulation between January 2011 and March 2020. Its chief object was to provide robust and up-to-date evidence to assist regulators in policy development and implementation.The main objectives of this study were to:Identify and retrieve research in the field of health and care professions regulation in English since 2011;Evaluate the published research, exploring its utility to regulators and practitioners, and drawing out any key messages;Draw conclusions concerning the scope and limitations of the research literature and identify areas for further research.MethodsWe undertook a rapid evidence assessment (REA) of the international literature on health and care professions regulation, including reviewing ten UK regulators’ websites to identify issues of concern and strategic priorities. We retrieved 3833 references, using a four-stage screening process to select the 81 most relevant.ResultsResults are reported within six key themes: harm prevention and patient safety; fitness to practise; quality assurance of education and training; registration including maintenance of registers; guidelines and standards and relations with regulatory bodies.ConclusionsRegulation of professionals in health and care is comparatively undeveloped as a field of academic study. Consequently, the published evidence is diffuse and small-scale. Most work presents relatively weak data of low relevance to regulators, mainly reporting or describing the current position. Few studies are able to show the impact of regulation or demonstrate a causal link between regulation and its effects. To inform their research and policy agendas health and social care regulators need to commission, interpret and apply the scholarly literature more effectively; academics need to engage with regulators to ensure that their research provides high-quality evidence with practical relevance to the regulators’ agendas. Further study is needed to explore how effective academic collaborations between regulators and researchers may be created and sustained.

Patient Safety in the Eyes of Aspiring Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic Review of Their Attitudes.

A culture of safety is important for the delivery of safe, high-quality care, as well as for healthcare providers’ wellbeing. This systematic review aimed to describe and synthesize the literature on patient safety attitudes of the next generation of healthcare workers (health professional students, new graduates, newly registered health professionals, resident trainees) and assess potential differences in this population related to years of study, specialties, and gender. We screened four electronic databases up to 20 February 2020 and additional sources, including weekly e-mailed search alerts up to 18 October 2020. Two independent reviewers conducted the search, study selection, quality rating, data extraction, and formal narrative synthesis, involving a third reviewer in case of dissent. We retrieved 6606 records, assessed 188 full-texts, and included 31 studies. Across articles, healthcare students and young professionals showed overwhelmingly positive patient safety attitudes in some areas (e.g., teamwork climate, error inevitability) but more negative perceptions in other domains (e.g., safety climate, disclosure responsibility). Women tend to report more positive attitudes. To improve safety culture in medical settings, health professions educators and institutions should ensure education and training on patient safety.

A public health response to a newly diagnosed case of hepatitis C associated with lapse in Infection Prevention and Control practices in a dental setting in Ontario, Canada.

Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDHU) investigated an exposure in an Ontario operatory dental facility related to a newly diagnosed hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection caused by a virus with an uncommon hepatitis C genotype. Lapses in Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) and a second epidemiologically-linked case (with the same uncommon hepatitis C genotype) were identified, prompting a broader public health response and outbreak investigation. a) To describe the investigation of a newly diagnosed case of hepatitis C; b) to describe the broader public health response, and c) to address a paucity in the literature related to the risk of disease transmission in dental settings due to IPAC lapses. A collaborative approach with two dental practices, public health partners and regulatory bodies was used. An IPAC inspection was completed to determine and mitigate the risk of blood borne infection transmission within the facilities. Appropriate protocols were followed for the IPAC investigation and public health response. The investigation identified a risk of potential HCV transmission between two cases linked to the same dental facility. There were no other epi-linked cases of HCV identified. Challenges included a lack of adherence to IPAC standards in one of the dental settings and awareness in the dental community regarding HCV transmission, coordination with regulatory bodies and public health experts and low uptake of laboratory testing by patients. Despite the unique challenges associated with the investigation, HKPRDHU conducted a successful IPAC lapse investigation and public health response. Public health units need to maintain collaborative approaches with regulated health professionals, their regulatory bodies and public health experts.

The regulation of healthcare professions and support workers in international context

BackgroundThe objective of this paper is to outline and compare the regulation of paid healthcare professions and associated support workers in international context, bringing out the lessons to be learned as appropriate. Modern neo-liberal societies have sought to enhance healthcare through greater professional regulation, albeit in different ways and at variable pace. This general trend is illustrated with reference to medicine in the UK. However, although such reforms have helpfully cascaded to other health professions, government policy in high-income countries has not yet adequately regulated the interrelated group of non-professionalised health support workers who form the largest and least recognised part of the workforce. Nonetheless, in low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries—aside from the greater need for regulation of health professions—there is even more of an imperative to regulate the disparate, largely invisible support workforce.MethodsWith reference to existing studies of the medical and wider health professions in the UK and selected other higher income societies, the importance of health professional regulation to the public is underlined in the Global North. The larger gap in the regulation of support workers in modern neo-liberal countries is also emphasised on a similar basis, with an increasingly ageing population and advances in healthcare. It is argued from the very limited patchwork of secondary literature, though, that policy-makers may want to focus even more on enhancing regulation of both the professional and non-professional workforce in LMIC societies centred mainly in the Global South, drawing on lessons from the Global North.Results/conclusionsEfforts to reform health professional regulatory approaches in more economically developed countries, while needing refinement, are likely to have had a positive effect. However, even in these societies there are still substantial shortfalls in the regulation of health support workers. There are even larger gaps in LMICs where there are fewer health professional staff and a greater dependence on support workers. With higher rates of morbidity and mortality, there is much more scope here for reforming health regulation in the public interest to extend standards and mitigate risk, following the pattern for healthcare professions in the Global North.

Sociotherapy in the Time of COVID-19: A Critical Position Paper on the Importance of Sociology.

This paper contends that sociotherapy, a sociologically informed approach to therapy, is a viable alternative to the diagnostic model recognized by the College of Registered Psychotherapists in Ontario (CRPO). The Psychotherapy Act (2007) along with the Regulated Health Professions Act (1991) gives the CRPO authorization to regulate the practice of psychotherapy and to control titles affiliated with the act of psychotherapy. I offer a discussion of sociotherapy and socioanalysis as clinical alternatives to the conservative and normalizing approaches endorsed by the College. I situate sociotherapy and socioanalysis in the discipline of sociology and in relation to Freudian psychoanalysis. I offer my own sociotherapeutic practice as an illustration of how the societal and the psychological, the social, and the psychic must be engaged in concert. I underscore the importance of dialogue, as opposed to diagnostics, interpretation as opposed to assessments and psychosocial contemplation as opposed to cognitive-behavioral treatment in clinical practice.

Health Care Professional Association Agency in Preparing for Artificial Intelligence: Protocol for a Multi-Case Study.

BackgroundThe emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care has impacted health care systems, including employment, training, education, and professional regulation. It is incumbent on health professional associations to assist their membership in defining and preparing for AI-related change. Health professional associations, or the national groups convened to represent the interests of the members of a profession, play a unique role in establishing the sociocultural, normative, and regulative elements of health care professions.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to present a protocol for a proposed study of how, when faced with AI as a disruptive technology, health professional associations engage in sensemaking and legitimization of change to support their membership in preparing for future practice.MethodsAn exploratory multi-case study approach will be used. This study will be informed by the normalization process theory (NPT), which suggests behavioral constructs required for complex change, providing a novel lens through which to consider the agency of macrolevel actors in practice change. A total of 4 health professional associations will be studied, each representing an instrumental case and related fields selected for their early consideration of AI technologies. Data collection will consist of key informant interviews, observation of relevant meetings, and document review. Individual and collective sensemaking activities and action toward change will be identified using stakeholder network mapping. A hybrid inductive and deductive model will be used for a concurrent thematic analysis, mapping emergent themes against the NPT framework to assess fit and identify areas of discordance.ResultsAs of January 2021, we have conducted 17 interviews, with representation across the 4 health professional associations. Of these 17 interviews, 15 (88%) have been transcribed. Document review is underway and complete for one health professional association and nearly complete for another. Observation opportunities have been challenged by competing priorities during COVID-19 and may require revisiting. A linear cross-case analytic approach will be taken to present the data, highlighting both guidance for the implementation of AI and implications for the application of NPT at the macro level. The ability to inform consideration of AI will depend on the degree to which the engaged health professional associations have considered this topic at the time of the study and, hence, what priority it has been assigned within the health professional association and what actions have been taken to consider or prepare for it. The fact that this may differ between health professional associations and practice environments will require consideration throughout the analysis.ConclusionsUltimately, this protocol outlines a case study approach to understand how, when faced with AI as a disruptive technology, health professional associations engage in sensemaking and legitimization of change to support their membership in preparing for future practice.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/27340

Exemplary medical care or Trojan horse? An analysis of the 'lifestyle medicine' movement.

The rise of non-communicable diseases, many of which share common risk factors of smoking, alcohol, poor diet, and physical inactivity, has resulted in calls to develop and expand lifestyle medicine, giving ‘hope to those suffering from chronic illness’ (https://bslm.org.uk/). It has been argued that lifestyle medicine should be recognised as a new medical specialty,1 with primary care leading. There are numerous drivers for lifestyle medicine (Box 1). Our analysis does not aim to argue against the importance of these drivers as many of them are well informed. Instead we seek to balance existing discussions with aspects that, in our opinion, have been less well considered. With this in mind, we focus on the unintended consequences of uncritical endorsement and application of lifestyle medicine including the infiltration of pseudoscience, profiteering, and the potential for widening health inequalities by a continued focus on the ‘individual’. We stress the need for greater attention to public health and community-level interventions and a more critical approach to current practice. | Prevention is better than cure. | || | The patient is an active partner, not a passive recipient. | | Lifestyle medicine treats the root cause (behaviours) of chronic disease, which medicine often overlooks. | | Lifestyle risk factors are the primary cause of non-communicable disease and must therefore be addressed. | | It is better to treat with lifestyle changes than to use potentially unnecessary drugs with the risk of side effects. | | Lifestyle medicine is cost-effective compared with conventional medicine. | | Professional satisfaction is greater, especially compared with usual approaches to chronic disease management (for example, the ‘tick box’ approach of the Quality and Outcomes Framework in England). | | Because of weakening of public health through defunding within local government, individual approaches are necessary. | | Public Health England has been perceived as not being sufficiently independent of government or industry. | Box 1. Key drivers for lifestyle medicine Medical practice guidelines often advise on ‘lifestyle factors’. These are usually in the form of individual behaviours that impact on health, framed as modifiable, often related to smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, diet, and, to a lesser degree, sleep quality, stress, and social factors. However, translation of guidelines into achievable real-world benefits outside clinical trials is challenging. The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM) describes lifestyle medicine as ‘an established approach that focuses on improving the health and wellbeing of individuals and populations … It requires an understanding and acknowledgement of the physical, emotional, environmental and social determinants of disease.’ (https://bslm.org.uk/). Society membership is open to registered health professionals, who can take a diploma, and associate membership is available to others, such as reflexologists, homeopaths, herbalists, and naturopaths. Some have …

IFCC interim guidelines on rapid point-of-care antigen testing for SARS-CoV-2 detection in asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals.

With an almost unremittent progression of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections all around the world, there is a compelling need to introduce rapid, reliable, and high-throughput testing to allow appropriate clinical management and/or timely isolation of infected individuals. Although nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) remains the gold standard for detecting and theoretically quantifying SARS-CoV-2 mRNA in various specimen types, antigen assays may be considered a suitable alternative, under specific circumstances. Rapid antigen tests are meant to detect viral antigen proteins in biological specimens (e.g. nasal, nasopharyngeal, saliva), to indicate current SARS-CoV-2 infection. The available assay methodology includes rapid chromatographic immunoassays, used at the point-of-care, which carries some advantages and drawbacks compared to more conventional, instrumentation-based, laboratory immunoassays. Therefore, this document by the International Federation for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) Taskforce on COVID-19 aims to summarize available data on the performance of currently available SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid detection tests (Ag-RDTs), providing interim guidance on clinical indications and target populations, assay selection, and evaluation, test interpretation and limitations, as well as on pre-analytical considerations. This document is hence mainly aimed to assist laboratory and regulated health professionals in selecting, validating, and implementing regulatory approved Ag-RDTs.

Reacreditación o recertificación de los cirujanos generales en España: esa es la cuestión. Resultados de una encuesta nacional

IntroductionThe Law for the Regulation of Health Professions (LOPS) indicates that health professionals will carry out continuous training throughout their professional life, and will regularly prove their professional competence. The objective of the study was to carry out a national survey to find out the opinion of Spanish surgeons and thus be able to prepare a recertification project by the Spanish Association of Surgeons (AEC). MethodsCross-sectional observational study carried out in June-July 2020, through a survey sent to the members of the AEC. ResultsThe survey had a total of 1230 visits and an overall completion rate of 784 responses (67.3%). 69.6% were unaware of the LOPS forecasts and 83.4% were unaware of similar initiatives in other specialties and 95.5% agreed to demand adequate information. 71.4% believed it necessary but only 57% believed that it should be mandatory. 82.9% would agree that it should be regulated through an objective and predictable official procedure. ConclusionsThe concept of re-accreditation is not well known in our specialty and in view of the results obtained, adequate and reliable information seems necessary. Therefore, it would be pertinent to propose by the AEC a specific project to assess activities and skills.