Toward a More Humanistic American Medical Profession: An Analysis of Premedical Web Sites From Ohio's Undergraduate Institutions

How to become an excellent pediatric resident: a qualitative comparative study from China

BACKGROUND

Competency-oriented medical education has become a global trend. However, most current studies focus on the independent effects of various competencies and lack an examination of the combined effects. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the competency configurations of excellent pediatric residents and general pediatric residents and to provide a scientific reference for the talent training and career development of pediatric residents.

METHODS

Behavioral event interviews were conducted with 23 pediatric residents at a children's hospital in Beijing in July and August 2019. Two researchers coded the interview data to summarize the competency of pediatric residents. The research group scored the performance of 23 pediatric residents in various aspects of competency and used the crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis method to explore the competency configurations of excellent pediatric residents and general pediatric residents.

RESULTS

This study concludes that pediatric residents should have six core competencies: professional spirit, clinical skills, communication ability, learning ability, mental capacity and research ability. There are 4 combinations of competencies for becoming an excellent pediatric resident: the clinical type, scientific research type, all-around development type and high emotional intelligence type. In addition, there are 3 combinations of competencies for becoming a general pediatric resident: the comprehensive ability deficiency type, lack of professionalism and mental capacity type, lack of communication ability type.

CONCLUSIONS

There are differences in competence between excellent and general pediatric residents. Excellent pediatric residents do not need to possess all competencies but should specialize in clinical practice, scientific research or communication skills. This study suggests that training in mental capacity, professional spirit and communication ability should be strengthened during pediatric resident training. Pediatric residents should make career development plans according to their actual situation, and hospitals should arrange suitable positions according to the characteristics of pediatric residents.

Identifying the competencies of China's paediatric residents: a modified Delphi method study

PURPOSE

Standardised Training of Paediatric Resident (STPR) plays an essential role in training qualified paediatricians. Until now, China had no paediatric resident competency index system to effectively guide and evaluate the competence of paediatric residents. This study aimed to establish a competency index system for paediatric residents in China to provide a reference for improving the training system and quality of STPR.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

This study conducted two rounds of Delphi expert consultation survey among paediatric medical experts (n=16), followed by screening, revising and supplementing indicators using the boundary value method. Next, the analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the weight of indicators and finally establish a competency index system for paediatric residents.

RESULTS

The results of the statistical analysis revealed a positive coefficient of 100% for both rounds of expert consultation. The expert authority coefficient values were 0.82 and 0.83, and the expert coordination coefficient test was p<0.01. After referring to experts' opinions, a competency index system for paediatric residents with 5 primary indicators, 14 secondary indicators and 73 tertiary indicators was finally formed and the weight of each indicator was calculated. The five primary indicators were professional quality (0.3187), knowledge and skills (0.2734), communication and cooperation (0.1986), lifelong learning (0.1302), and teaching ability (0.0791).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, a competency index system for paediatric residents was constructed following the characteristics and quality requirements for paediatric residents in China and is expected to significantly improve the overall level of paediatricians' medical service quality and supply.

Spirituality and Healthcare—Common Grounds for the Secular and Religious Worlds and Its Clinical Implications

The spiritual dimension of patients has progressively gained more relevance in healthcare in the last decades. However, the term “spiritual” is an open, fluid concept and, for health purposes, no definition of spirituality is universally accepted. Health professionals and researchers have the challenge to cover the entire spectrum of the spiritual level in their practice. This is particularly difficult because most healthcare courses do not prepare their graduates in this field. They also need to face acts of prejudice by their peers or their managers. Here, the authors aim to clarify some common grounds between secular and religious worlds in the realm of spirituality and healthcare. This is a conceptual manuscript based on the available scientific literature and on the authors’ experience. The text explores the secular and religious intersection involving spirituality and healthcare, together with the common ground shared by the two fields, and consequent clinical implications. Summarisations presented here can be a didactic beginning for practitioners or scholars involved in health or behavioural sciences. The authors think this construct can favour accepting the patient’s spiritual dimension importance by healthcare professionals, treatment institutes, and government policies.