Priorities in behavioral science education: views of practicing family physicians

The behavioral science curriculum in family practice residency programs consists of a wide range of diverse topics. Because of time limitations, not all topics receive equal emphasis. The goal of the present study was to replicate a previous study with family physicians practicing in a different geographical area.

Questionnaires were mailed to a sample of 543 family physicians in Mississippi. Respondents were asked to rate each of 28 behavioral science topics according to the priority to be given in residency education.

One hundred eighty-five surveys were returned for a 34% response rate. The rank order of topics in the present study was highly similar to the rank order in the original study. Female physicians had higher overall mean ratings.

This sample of family physicians in Mississippi provided similar ratings to those in a previous study of family physicians trained and/or practicing in Colorado. The results support that, regardless of geographic location and practice characteristics, family physicians hold similar opinions about which behavioral science topics should receive highest priority in residency training. The behavioral science curriculum in family practice residency programs consists of a wide range of diverse topics. Because of time limitations, not all topics receive equal emphasis. Published resources provide helpful lists of topics and teaching strategies but do not specify which areas should be given priority. Consequently, behavioral science teachers may have difficulty prioritizing the topics because there is no agreement on the core competencies to be given highest priority in residency education. In a previous study, investigators sent a survey to practicing family physicians to determine the topics of behavioral science considered to be most important in residency education. The physicians were able to identify specific topics to be given higher priority. While these previous results were useful, the study was limited by the homogeneity of the sample. All the family physicians had trained or were currently practicing in the state of Colorado. The goal of the present study was to replicate the original study with family physicians practicing in a different geographical area.