Sixty-six programs provided a list. The number of required procedures on the lists ranged from a minimum of 3 procedures to a maximum of 117, with an average of 42. A total of 265 distinct procedures were identified, with 25 procedures named on more than half of the lists. There were no significant differences in lists among training program type, university affiliation, number of hospitals used for rotation, size of affiliated hospital, or number of residents. The expectations of individual programs vary greatly in terms of required procedures.
Few programs define how to evaluate the technical competency of their residents.
Practice and review with cardiology patient simulators and prerecorded heart sounds has been shown to increase the accuracy of diagnosis by medical students and residents. The participants were 15 members of an urban family practice residency. The residents were presented with simulated heart sounds and were asked to identify them in a pretest and posttest. Between the tests, participants were invited to three separate teaching sessions that involved a discussion of cardiac auscultatory findings and a review of audiotaped similar heart sounds. Residents who were unable to attend the teaching sessions formed a control group.