Factors which impact on readiness of physicians-practitioners to continuous professional development and individual licensing

Abstract

Aim. To assess the theoretical level of knowledge of physicians-practitioners who underwent post-graduate training through the cycles of thematic improvement and pre-certification cycles using the test tasks "Step-3. General Medical Training"; to compare the obtained results of responses of the physicians-practitioners with the results obtained by interns and to justify the factors that influence the success of the physicians-practitioners in the postgraduate study. Material and Methods. A written testing of 194 physicians-practitioners who had studied at pre-certification cycles and cycles of thematic improvement was conducted taking into account physicians' individual characteristics (work experience, speciality, etc.); the results were compared with the results of testing of 243 interns, who had passed the primary specialization (internship) at the Faculty of Postgraduate Education of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University. For processing the test results a standard package of Excel 2010 was used. Results and Discussion. The average success rate of testing tasks among all certified physicians-practitioners and interns was 62.4±6.1%. Positive, weak, statistically significant correlation was found between the average test results and the category of physicians-practitioners (r=0.20 at p0.05). Conclusion. Only a third part of the physicians-practitioners was to the fullest extent ready for the licensing exam. The assumption that the higher is the category of the physicians-practitioners, the better is the result of the test was confirmed. However, it is imperative to take into account the age factor during the teaching process. Narrow specialization is not always a determining factor of better preparedness for solving test situational tasks. Primary care providers showed better results in solving test situational tasks.

Keywords

• continuous professional development; physicians, who accomplished post-graduate education; physicians-interns, factors of impact