What Do Clinical Supervisors Require to Teach Residents in Family Medicine How to Care for Seniors?

Abstract

We assessed clinicians' continuing professional development (CPD) needs at family practice teaching clinics in the province of Quebec. Our mixed methodology design comprised an environmental scan of training programs at four family medicine departments, an expert panel to determine priority clinical situations for senior care, a supervisors survey to assess their perceived CPD needs, and interviews to help understand the rationale behind their needs. From the environmental scan, the expert panel selected 13 priority situations. Key needs expressed by the 352 survey respondents (36% response rate) included behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, polypharmacy, depression, and cognitive disorders. Supervisors explained that these situations were sometimes complex to diagnose and manage because of psychosocial aspects, challenges of communicating with patients and families, and coordination of interprofessional teams. Supervisors also reported more CPD needs in long-term and home care, given the presence of caregivers and complexity of senior care in these settings.

Family Medicine Supervisors’ Preferences for Improving Their Teaching Skills in Senior Care

“…In a previous study in 43 family medicine teaching clinics, we used a cross-sectional survey to evaluate supervisors' perceived CPD requirements to teach their trainees how to manage clinical situations typical of senior care. 17 Based on the results, we chose a purposive maximum-variation subsample of four clinics where supervisors reported extensive CPD needs for different clinical situations. Professionals of any profession who practice in family medicine clinics (nurses, social workers, pharmacists, psychologists) play formal or informal roles in the supervision of family medicine residents.…”

“…We reported discussions relative to training content elsewhere. 17 To explore possible themes and subthemes, the principal investigator (A.G.) and two research assistants (M.M., F.P.) independently went through a portion of the interviews, then reached a consensus.…”