Comparison of expectations and beliefs about good teaching in an academic day release medical education program: a qualitative study.

Background: In a professional learner-centered(ness) educational environment, communication and alignment of expectations about teaching are indispensable. Professional education of residents could benefit from an analysis and comparison of teachers' and residents' educational expectations and beliefs. Our purpose is to identify success factors and barriers related to aligning expectations and beliefs and building a supportive professional learner-centered educational environment.

The effect of gender medicine education in GP training: a prospective cohort study.

The purpose of this study is to compare the change in general practitioner (GP) trainees' gender awareness following a modular gender medicine programme or a mainstream gender medicine programme. In 2007, a prospective study was conducted in three cohorts of in total 207 GP trainees who entered GP training in the Netherlands. The outcome measure was the Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale and a 16-item gender knowledge questionnaire.

Qualitative study about the ways teachers react to feedback from resident evaluations.

Background: Currently, one of the main interventions that are widely expected to contribute to teachers' professional development is confronting teachers with feedback from resident evaluations of their teaching performance. Receiving feedback, however, is a double edged sword. Teachers see themselves confronted with information about themselves and are, at the same time, expected to be role models in the way they respond to feedback.

Are family practice trainers and their host practices any better? Comparing practice trainers and non-trainers and their practices.

Background: Family Physician (FP) trainees are expected to be provided with high quality training in well organized practice settings. This study examines differences between FP trainers and non-trainers and their practices to see whether there are differences in trainers and non-trainers and in how their practices are organized and their services are delivered.

Method: 203 practices (88 non-training and 115 training) with 512 FPs (335 non-trainers and 177 trainers) were assessed using the "Visit Instrument Practice organization (VIP)" on 369 items (142 FP-level; 227 Practice level).

Assessment of CanMEDS roles in postgraduate training: the validation of the Compass.

Objective: In medical education the focus has shifted from gaining knowledge to developing competencies. To effectively monitor performance in practice throughout the entire training, a new approach of assessment is needed. This study aimed to evaluate an instrument that monitors the development of competencies during postgraduate training in the setting of training of general practice: the Competency Assessment List (Compass).

Expert consensus on gender criteria for assessment in medical communication education.

Objective: The aim of this study is to develop gender criteria that can be included in communication skills assessment in medical education.

Methods: A three-round Delphi study was conducted. The invited 59 participants were experts in the field of gender medicine education (n = 28) and doctor-patient communication (n = 31).

Teachers' ideas versus experts' descriptions of 'the good teacher' in postgraduate medical education: implications for implementation. A qualitative study.

Background: When innovations are introduced in medical education, teachers often have to adapt to a new concept of what being a good teacher includes. These new concepts do not necessarily match medical teachers' own, often strong beliefs about what it means to be a good teacher.Recently, a new competency-based description of the good teacher was developed and introduced in all the Departments of Postgraduate Medical Education for Family Physicians in the Netherlands.

Attention to gender in communication skills assessment instruments in medical education: a review.

Context: Gender is increasingly regarded as an important factor in doctor-patient communication education. This review aims to assess if and how gender is addressed by current assessment instruments for communication skills in medical education.

Methods: In 2009 at Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, an online search was conducted in the bibliographic databases PubMed, PsycINFO and ERIC for references about communication skills assessment instruments designed to be completed by trained faculty staff and used in medical education.

Behavioural elements of professionalism: assessment of a fundamental concept in medical care.

Background: The Nijmegen Professionalism Scale, an instrument for assessing professional behaviour of general practitioner (GP) trainees, consists of four domains: professional behaviour towards patients, other professionals, society and oneself. The purpose of the instrument is to provide formative feedback.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Nijmegen Professionalism Scale.

Incorporating and evaluating an integrated gender-specific medicine curriculum: a survey study in Dutch GP training.

Background: We recently set standards for gender-specific medicine training as an integrated part of the GP training curriculum. This paper describes the programme and evaluation of this training.

Methods: The programme is designed for GP registrars throughout the 3-year GP training.

Pemetrexed plus cetuximab in patients with recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): a phase I/II study from the Hoosier Oncology Group.

Purpose: Pemetrexed is a standard treatment against recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and cetuximab has single-agent activity against NSCLC. This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of the combination of these agents in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Patients And Methods: Patients with recurrent NSCLC and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 1 were entered.

Spirometry expert support in family practice: a cluster-randomised trial.

Aim: To assess the impact of two modes of spirometry expert support on Family physicians' (FPs') diagnoses and planned management in patients with apparent respiratory disease.

Method: A cluster-randomised trial was performed with family practices as the unit of randomisation. FPs from 44 family practices recorded their diagnosis and planned management before and after spirometry for 868 patients.

Bridging the gap between primary care and public health.

In August 2007, a registrar of our general practitioner training program in The Netherlands diagnosed pneumonia in a young, otherwise healthy, male patient. The registrar established that the patient was in a stable condition and had no risk factors for respiratory tract disease. After consulting the GP supervisor, the patient was treated in the community.

[Prevalence of and health care consumption for asthma and COPD in relation to ethnicity].

Objective: To determine whether there are differences in prevalence of and health care consumption for asthma and COPD between Dutch people of Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese origin and indigenous Dutch people.

Design: Retrospective.

Method: Based on data from the 'Second Dutch national study into morbidity and interventions in general practice', we compared the prevalence of asthma and COPD in the different ethnic groups.

Are asymptomatic airway hyperresponsiveness and allergy risk factors for asthma? A longitudinal study.

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is a characteristic feature of asthma, but it is unclear whether asymptomatic AHR is associated with a higher risk of asthma. The present study assessed whether there is an association between asymptomatic AHR in adolescence and asthma in adulthood. The association between allergy and development of asthma was also investigated.

Tracing uncontrolled asthma in family practice using a mailed asthma control questionnaire.

Purpose: A substantial proportion of adult patients with asthma have inadequately controlled symptoms despite the availability of effective treatment. The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) can be used to discriminate between asthma patients with well- and suboptimally controlled asthma symptoms. The objective of this study was to investigate whether a postal mailing of the ACQ can be used to identify asthma patients with suboptimal symptom control in family practice.

Effect of an integrated primary care model on the management of middle-aged and old patients with obstructive lung diseases.

Objective: To investigate the effect of a primary care model for COPD on process of care and patient outcome.

Design: Controlled study with delayed intervention in control group.

Setting: The GP delegates tasks to a COPD support service (CSS) and a practice nurse.

[Postgraduate training for general practitioners in the Netherlands--a model for Germany? Description of postgraduate training and critical comparison].

Unlike in other countries, postgraduate training in Germany is not attached to academic centres. Content and duration of postgraduate training are stipulated by the federal medical boards, with the process being unstructured and solely at the responsibility of the trainee. As a model for a structured postgraduate training programme, the Dutch training system for general practitioners is described in detail.

Impact of a spirometry expert system on general practitioners' decision making.

The present study assessed the impact of computerised spirometry interpretation expert support on the diagnostic achievements of general practitioners (GPs), and on GPs' decision making in diagnosing chronic respiratory disease. A cluster-randomised controlled trial was performed in 78 GPs who each completed 10 standardised paper case descriptions. Intervention consisted of support for GPs' spirometry interpretation either by an expert system (expert support group) or by sham information (control group).

Clinical evaluation of the CA530-VET hematology analyzer for use in veterinary practice.

Background: The CA530-VET is a completely automated impedance cell hematology analyzer, which yields a 16-parameter blood count including a 3-part leukocyte differential.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the operational potential of the CA530-VET and its value for use in veterinary practice.

Methods: The analyzer was tested for blood carry-over, precision, and accuracy.

General practitioners' needs for ongoing support for the interpretation of spirometry tests.

Background: Although one out of three general practitioners (GPs) carries out spirometry, the diagnostic interpretation of spirometric test results appears to be a common barrier for GPs towards its routine application.

Methods: Multivariate cross-sectional analysis of a questionnaire survey among 137 GPs who participated in a spirometry evaluation programme in the Netherlands. We identified characteristics of GPs and their practice settings associated with GPs' need for ongoing support for spirometry interpretation.

The feasibility of a primary care model for the management of COPD.

Aims: To investigate the feasibility of a primary care model to improve the management of COPD.

Methods: An intervention study on 1,497 patients with documented COPD from 22 general practices, involving 11 practice nurses and a COPD Support Service (CSS). Outcome measures included the successful delegation of tasks from general practitioners (GPs) to the CSS and practice nurse, and performance in daily practice according to the model components -- keeping a patient register with a recall system, periodical history taking and lung function measurements, asking diagnostic and therapeutic advice, and performing regular follow-up visits with education and counselling.

Can the Asthma Control Questionnaire be used to differentiate between patients with controlled and uncontrolled asthma symptoms? A pilot study.

Background: A substantial number of adult patients with asthma are inadequately controlled despite the availability of effective asthma treatment. Patients and physicians seem to overestimate the level of asthma control.

Objective: The current study explores whether valid differentiation is possible between asthma patients with controlled and uncontrolled asthma symptoms, on the basis of the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ).