Articles: professional-practice.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2010
Review Meta AnalysisInterventions to improve question formulation in professional practice and self-directed learning.
Formulating questions is fundamental to the daily life of a healthcare worker and is a defining characteristic of professional competence and meaningful learning. With high expectations for healthcare providers to remain up-to-date with current evidence and the movement towards formalizing reflective practice as part of physician revalidation, it is important that curricula developed for improving the ability to formulate well-constructed questions are based on the best evidence. ⋯ Evidence from our review suggests that interventions to increase the quality of questions formulated in practice produce mixed results at both short- (immediately following intervention), and moderate-term follow up (up to nine months), comparatively. Although three studies reported effectiveness estimates of an educational intervention for increasing the quality of question formulation within the short term, only one study examined the effectiveness in the longer term (one year) and revealed that search skills had eroded over time. Data suggests that sustainability of effects from educational interventions for question formulation are unknown.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2010
Review Meta AnalysisClinical pathways: effects on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of stay and hospital costs.
Clinical pathways are structured multidisciplinary care plans used by health services to detail essential steps in the care of patients with a specific clinical problem. They aim to link evidence to practice and optimise clinical outcomes whilst maximising clinical efficiency. ⋯ Clinical pathways are associated with reduced in-hospital complications and improved documentation without negatively impacting on length of stay and hospital costs.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jul 2009
ReviewThe concepts of professionalism and professional behaviour: conflicts in both definition and learning outcomes.
This article is the second in a series on professionalism in the European Journal of Internal Medicine. The current article will first focus on these different views and definitions that are currently adopted by the various researchers, and subsequently discuss the consequences for the training and assessment of professionalism and professional behaviour in medical education.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Apr 2009
Review Meta AnalysisContinuing education meetings and workshops: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes.
Educational meetings are widely used for continuing medical education. Previous reviews found that interactive workshops resulted in moderately large improvements in professional practice, whereas didactic sessions did not. ⋯ Educational meetings alone or combined with other interventions, can improve professional practice and healthcare outcomes for the patients. The effect is most likely to be small and similar to other types of continuing medical education, such as audit and feedback, and educational outreach visits. Strategies to increase attendance at educational meetings, using mixed interactive and didactic formats, and focusing on outcomes that are likely to be perceived as serious may increase the effectiveness of educational meetings. Educational meetings alone are not likely to be effective for changing complex behaviours.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2009
Review Meta AnalysisOn-site mental health workers delivering psychological therapy and psychosocial interventions to patients in primary care: effects on the professional practice of primary care providers.
Mental health problems are common in primary care and mental health workers (MHWs) are increasingly working in this setting delivering psychological therapy and psychosocial interventions to patients. In addition to treating patients directly, the introduction of on-site MHWs represents an organisational change that may lead to changes in the clinical behaviour of primary care providers (PCPs). ⋯ This review provides some evidence that MHWs working in primary care to deliver psychological therapy and psychosocial interventions cause a significant reduction in PCP behaviours such as consultations, prescribing, and referrals to specialist care. However, the changes are modest in magnitude, inconsistent, do not generalise to the wider patient population, and their clinical or economic significance is unclear.