A method for selecting which procedural skills should be learned by internal medicine residents

Despite a need for better documentation of training in procedural skills in internal medicine, there is no general agreement regarding which skills should be required. This paper describes a method for selecting which procedural skills should be mastered by medicine residents. Seventy-two skills were collected from faculty suggestions, review of the literature, and hospital privilege request forms. Residents and faculty at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine were asked to select from the list those skills which should be mastered by all residents completing the three-year general internal medicine residency. At least 80 percent of the 107 respondents agreed on 30 skills that should be learned by all residents, but there was significant disagreement regarding the need for some of the skills. In a second survey, at least one-fourth of the 16 senior residents did not feel competent to perform 13 of the 30 skills, indicating areas which require scrutiny.