A national survey of medical risk assessment instruction in general practice residency programs (Part II)

This is the second part of a three-part series reporting a national survey of general practice residency directors and their evaluation of the medical risk assessment (MRA) instruction curriculum in their programs. The purpose of Part II is to evaluate the degree of success of the implementation of the ADA Commission on Accreditation's standard for MRA programs. Acceptable levels of achievement were attained in most areas of basic and intermediate-level skills. However, approximately one-third to one-half of general practice residency directors report that they are not achieving the standard for some intermediate or advanced assessment skills. When various instructor categories were compared, physicians scored significantly higher than oral and maxillofacial surgeons or other dentists in their ability to achieve acceptable outcomes in MRA instruction. The results of this survey, coupled with available literature concerning medical risk assessment instruction, support that changes in the undergraduate curriculum, a mandatory additional year of training, or modification of defined goals and outcomes should be considered.