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Raising questions in clinical practice.
The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions
|December 11, 1987
Summary
Family physicians encounter many patient care questions daily. This study found that personal library resources did not impact the number of unanswered questions, highlighting a need for improved problem-solving skills and literature access training.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Information Science
- Family Medicine
Background:
- Family physicians face frequent clinical questions during patient care.
- Assessing physician information needs and resource utilization is crucial for evidence-based practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify unanswered clinical questions encountered by family physicians.
- To examine the relationship between unanswered questions and available/used library resources.
- To identify factors associated with a higher number of clinical questions.
Main Methods:
- 87 volunteer family physicians reported unanswered questions over one day.
- Physicians documented their library access and usage patterns.
- T-test analysis was used to explore relationships between variables.
Main Results:
- Physicians reported an average of 6.8 unanswered questions daily.
- Primary reliance was on office and home libraries with limited recent resources.
- Higher question counts correlated with practice in medical schools and specific training, not library holdings or patient demographics.
Conclusions:
- Personal library size and content did not correlate with the number of unanswered clinical questions.
- Enhanced training in problem-solving and modern literature access is recommended for family physicians.
- Medical educators and librarians should collaborate to support physician professional development.