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"That Was Pretty Powerful": a Qualitative Study of What Physicians Learn When Preparing for Their
Benjamin Chesluk1, Bradley Gray2, Aimee Eden3
1American Board of Internal Medicine, 510 Walnut St., Ste. 1700, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. bchesluk@abim.org.
Journal of General Internal Medicine
|July 5, 2019
Summary
Preparing for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) exams helps primary care physicians gain relevant medical knowledge. This knowledge positively impacts their patient care through improved diagnosis, prescribing, and reduced unnecessary testing.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Continuing Professional Development
- Primary Care Practice
Background:
- Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requires periodic medical knowledge exams for physicians.
- The impact of MOC exam preparation on physician knowledge and practice is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how MOC exam preparation influences physicians' medical knowledge and clinical practice.
- To understand the perceived benefits and changes in practice resulting from MOC study.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study utilizing semi-structured telephone interviews.
- 80 primary care physicians (family and internal medicine) who recently completed an MOC exam were interviewed.
- Analysis focused on physicians' accounts of learning and practice changes due to MOC preparation.
Main Results:
- 67 out of 80 physicians reported gaining knowledge relevant to their practice.
- 63 physicians provided specific examples of practice changes, including improved patient care and reduced testing.
- Physicians also shared learned information with colleagues and trainees.
Conclusions:
- Studying for MOC exams leads to the acquisition of relevant and beneficial medical knowledge for primary care physicians.
- The knowledge gained positively affects patient care and professional practice.