Teaching immediate cardiac care to general practitioners: a faculty-based approach

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Education
• General Practice

Background:

• Immediate cardiac care is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
• General practitioners (GPs) require accessible, specialized training in cardiac emergencies.
• Existing continuing medical education (CME) networks can facilitate widespread training delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development, piloting, and delivery of an Immediate Care Cardiac Course (ICCC) for Irish GPs.
• To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of utilizing the Irish College of General Practitioners' CME network for course dissemination.
• To evaluate participant feedback on the ICCC and identify areas for improvement.

Main Methods:

• Development of a specific ICCC curriculum.
• Leveraging the Irish College of General Practitioners' CME network for course delivery.
• Piloting the course with a cohort of Irish GPs.
• Collecting participant feedback through surveys and evaluations.

Main Results:

• The ICCC was successfully developed and delivered to 167 Irish GPs (8% of the total) in its first year.
• The course proved locally accessible, even for remote practitioners, facilitating rapid dissemination.
• Participant feedback was positive, particularly highlighting the value of small group and skills-based learning components.

Conclusions:

• The ICCC model, utilizing existing CME infrastructure, is a viable and effective approach for delivering specialized cardiac skills training to GPs.
• This model demonstrates potential as a template for introducing other skills-based courses for healthcare professionals in Ireland and internationally.
• Further development includes implementing formal assessment procedures to enhance the course's impact.