Care by physicians with varying backgrounds shows important differences

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As one of the authors of this study comparing emergency physicians with different training backgrounds, I believe these findings highlight some important considerations regarding residency training and its impact on clinical care. When we embarked on this research, we hypothesized that physicians who had completed residency training would provide measurably higher quality care for hand injury patients than those without residency training. However, in several areas, the less-trained physicians were actually more thorough in their evaluations and adherence to protocols. While surprising, these findings lead me to conclude that residency training alone may not be enough to improve care for common outpatient conditions like hand injuries. There are clearly some knowledge and practice gaps that continuing education initiatives could address more efficiently than the broad focus of a 3-4 year residency. Our study also shows the value of directly observing and comparing physician practices to make evidence-based assessments about the impact of training programs. I believe this methodology could be useful for identifying strengths and weaknesses in a way that allows targeted improvements to physician education. Ultimately, our goal is to promote the highest quality emergency care. I hope our study provides an impetus for this critical evaluation and innovation in physician training. The focus should remain on improving patient outcomes.

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