Residents and faculty recorded patient demographics, rated the technical quality of the encounter, and noted equipment problems during encounters. Use of teleconferencing diminished considerably over the 6-month period of the study. Most cases precepted by teleconferencing involved uncomplicated acute illnesses. Telemedicine precepting was technically feasible, generally reliable, and initially acceptable to the third-year residents. However, the cases precepted were mostly acute illnesses, and use of telemedicine for precepting diminished over time.
Time limitations reduce the number of topics that can be emphasized.
This study presents the opinions of practicing family physicians regarding the prioritization of behavioral science topics for residency education. We mailed a questionnaire to 633 practicing family physicians. Respondents provided demographic data and rated 28 behavioral science topics according to priority to be given in residency education. Female physicians and physicians with a behaviorist in their practice provided significantly higher overall average ratings. The list of prioritized topics may provide a useful guide to help family medicine educators decide which topics to emphasize in the behavioral science curriculum.