Family physicians' evaluation of the practice management education received during residency training

In view of the increasing complexity associated with managing the "business side" of medical practice, the relevance of various practice management topics to the careers of family physicians was examined, along with how well those topics were taught during residency, and ways to improve this training.

A total of 563 family physicians were surveyed two years after graduating from residencies and asked to rank the relevance of selected practice management topics, to assess how adequately these topics were covered during their residencies, and to evaluate which were the most effective methods for teaching practice management.

The subjects rated practice management topics as "mostly relevant" or "extremely relevant," while 94% of those same topics were rated as having been "only slightly covered" or "not covered at all" during residency training. Frequently cited comments for improving this area included the development of a more formal, required business curriculum, greater use of community practitioners and outside speakers, more resident involvement in the management of the residency practice's business office functions, and the creation of practice management rotations in community practitioners' offices.

The results indicated that, despite improvements in practice management training during the past decade, this area still needs greater attention to prepare physicians to succeed in private practice.