Family practice residents have been provided with education on respiratory viruses and the results of ongoing viral surveillance. The preliminary effects of this program on antibiotic prescribing by senior residents are evaluated in this paper. We used a questionnaire to assess the acceptance by family practice residents of the educational component and the utility of ongoing viral surveillance. Moreover, residents reported that they were less likely to prescribe antibiotics to patients presenting with respiratory infections when provided with specific information on circulating viral pathogens. Education and monitoring of circulating respiratory viruses can result in familiarity with common disorders in primary care and reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.
Practice management is a required component in family practice residency education.
A few studies have reported that recently graduated primary care physicians indicated that their practice management training was inadequate. Our study describes the current nature of practice management education in family practice residencies and the perceptions of residency directors about the effectiveness of their program s practice management curriculum. Surveys were mailed to 421 family practice residency directors, who were asked about their program s curriculum approach to teaching practice management, as well as their evaluation of the effectiveness of the curriculum. Eighteen percent of the respondents provided less than the required 60 hours of practice management curricular time. Residency directors indicated that managed care has had a significant effect on their curriculum.