[Evaluation of continuous education: from the satisfaction to the impact. With regard to a formative programme in minor surgery in a health area]

Avaliação de um programa de formação baseado no Mentoring para aquisição de habilidades em pequena cirurgia num centro de saúde urbano em Jaén, Andaluzia, Espanha

Objetivos: Avaliar a implantação de um programa de tutoria em habilidades para a pequena cirurgia em um centro de saúde urbano. Desenho e métodos: Estudo descritivo transversal numa zona básica de saúde urbana composta por 16000 habitantes. Recolhemos todas as intervenções cirúrgicas realizadas durante os anos de 2009, 2010 e 2011. Estas foram divididas em dois grupos. Um primeiro grupo que compreende aquelas intervenções que foram autorizadas por um médico com experiência, e outro onde encontramos as não tutoradas. Também foram considerados os tipos de intervenção, existência de consentimento informado e o envio de amostras a anatomia patológica. Resultados: Foram realizadas um total de 363 intervenções (101 em 2009, 114 em 2010 e 148 em 2011), 45% autorizadas, sem encontrar diferenças por ano de realização nem por tipo de intervenção (59% extirpação de verrugas, 25% infiltrações, 7% quistos epidérmicos). Participaram da proposta, principalmente médicos residentes (96%), seguidos de médicos de família (62%) e por último a equipe de enfermagem (29%). Um maior número de peças cirúrgicas foram enviadas a anatomia patológica nos atos cirúrgicos tutorados (83% vs 62%, p < 0.05 test c²) assim como, houve um melhor preenchimento do consentimento informado. Conclusões: O sistema de formação em habilidades por mentoring em “Pequena Cirurgia” implicou progressivamente no restante de profissionais do Centro de Saúde, aumentou a quantidade de atos cirúrgicos realizados e melhorou a qualidade do programa. Aproveitar as habilidades dos profissionais que trabalham em Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS) para formar os colegas, pode atuar como catalizador para aumentar a capacidade de resposta e inovação.

Oral cancer: experiences and diagnostic abilities elicited by dentists in North-western Spain

BACKGROUND

Opinions, knowledge, behaviours and attitudes of general dental practitioners on oral cancer prevention and detection have been reported from many countries. However, experiences and skills of oral cancer detection have not been evaluated systematically.

OBJECTIVE

To obtain information on behaviours of screening and ability to correctly detect oral cancer and precancer among general dentists (GDP) in North-western Spain.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Thirty-two randomly selected GDPs completed questionnaires and then classified 50 projected images of clinical lesions, into cancer, precancer or benign lesions.

RESULTS

87.5% reported conducting routine oral examinations, 84.4% provided routine advice to their subjects for risk modifications and 84.4% claimed to biopsy a suspected oral mucosal lesion that they detected in practice. In a quasi research setting using clinical slides, the sensitivity of visual diagnosis of a cancerous lesion was 61.4% and precancer 59.5%. The diagnostic accuracy reported here is lower than what is already reported by evaluation of published screening programmes by dentists.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data from Spain suggest a need for improving the diagnostic ability of GDPs in the visual detection of oral cancer/precancer by strengthening continuing professional education.

[Minor surgery in primary care: is continuing education within the team a valid strategy for improving quality?]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of continuing education within the team (FCI, in Spanish) on the quality of minor surgery.

DESIGN

Study of level of quality. SETTING. Primary care.

PARTICIPANTS

First evaluation: all the lesions referred for biopsy during 1998 (62 samples). Second evaluation: those referred in 1999-2000 (150).

MAIN MEASUREMENTS

Four explicit criteria regulating procedure and result were designed: C1, sufficient information; C2, correct referral; C3, correct extirpation of lesion; C4, clinical-pathological concordance. Request forms and anatomical-pathological reports were assessed. Evaluation was before and after corrective measures (FCI and organisational changes designed to support FCI). The Kappa index of inter-observer concordance, the Compliance Index and Fisher's Z index were analysed.

RESULTS

62 lesions were included in the first evaluation, with high reliability for C1 and C4, good for C2 and moderate for C3. 150 lesions were included in the second evaluation. The compliance indices showed statistically significant increases from the first to the second evaluation for C1 (38.09% and 50.66%, relative improvement of 19%) and C4 (68.85% and 85.2%, relative improvement of 53%). C2 showed an improvement, but without statistical significance (87.30% and 92.66%). The compliance index for C3 dropped (94.73% and 87.50%). 5.33% of cases in the second evaluation (8 biopsies) were malignant or pre-malignant lesions, compared with 20.96% in the first (P<.05). 100% of these latter showed free resection limits. 77.99% of lesions studied through a biopsy in the second evaluation were nevus, seborrhoeic keratosis or dermatofibroma.

CONCLUSIONS

FCI is a valid strategy for improving the quality of programmes of minor surgery in primary care. There was significant improvement in the identification of malignant and pre-malignant pathology, in correct referral and in the clinical-pathological concordance of the lesions.