Audit: trainers' and trainees' attitudes and experiences

Abstract

Little is known about the audit activity taking place among general practitioners as part of their vocational training. All 155 trainers and their trainees in the West of Scotland were asked about their attitudes to and their experiences of audit. Two hundred and thirty-five replies were received from 310 questionnaires sent, giving an 85% response from trainers and 67% from trainees. Both trainers and trainees had positive attitudes to audit with regard to its use: for assessing work (87% of trainers, 97% trainees); as an appropriate use of resources (92% of trainers, 78% of trainees); as an appropriate use of time (91% trainers, 76% trainees); in improving patient care (96% of trainers, 76% of trainees). Most trainers (90%) and 52% of trainees had started collecting data with a view to starting an audit, 56% of trainers and 23% of trainees had personally set a standard and 54% of trainers but only 12% of trainees had completed a cycle of audit. Despite very positive attitudes to audit there is a problem completing a cycle of audit, particularly among trainees. They will thus be denied the benefit of negotiating and evaluating change as part of their training, skills which will be necessary to ensure a lifelong awareness of the quality of care they are providing.

The effect of an educational programme to improve the skills of general practitioners in diagnosing melanocytic/pigmented lesions

“…This targeted intervention combined a focused educational module together with the evidence‐based strategy for improved performance of clinical audit and feedback 14 . It resulted in GPs in this study improving the M : B ratio for excised melanocytic lesions from 1 : 15.4 to 1 : 6.4, despite greater patient insistence to excise melanocytic compared with nonmelanocytic lesions.…”

“…The educational aspect was enhanced by the provision of feedback about GPs' diagnostic accuracy for excised lesions, and how this compared with their peers. Strategies to predispose to, enable and reinforce change in performance were incorporated into the audit and feedback process 14 . After the first audit, GPs received the paper‐based self‐paced education module, which contained a succinct summary of key points and actions with content based on learning objectives, as well as additional sources of reading.…”

“…Strategies to predispose to, enable and reinforce change in performance were incorporated into the audit and feedback process. 14 After the first audit, GPs received the paper-based selfpaced education module, which contained a succinct summary of key points and actions with content based on learning objectives, as well as additional sources of reading. GPs received continuing medical education points through the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.…”

Variations in the ability of general medical practitioners to apply two methods of clinical audit: a five‐year study of assessment by peer review

“…2000). Of particular concern is the growing evidence pointing to variations in the reported lack of knowledge and expertise of health care professionals in adequately applying audit techniques, which has also hampered progress (Lough et al . 1995a; Tabandeh & Thompson 1995; Willmot et al .…”

Audit and summative assessment: a completed audit cycle

“…8 Still of some concern, however, is the high percentage of registrars completing their ®rst audit cycle in the registrar year 5 , which is similar to the ®ndings of two surveys 4 and 6 years ago. 9,10 The next challenge must be to increase audit teaching to senior house of®cers in their vocational training schemes, as the audit component of summative assessment can be completed at any time during the 3 years of training.…”