Surgical skills deficiencies and needs of rural general practitioners in South Africa

Abstract

To determine which specific surgical procedures GPs in rural SA need to be able to perform, and the contents of a CPD programme that could be developed to address these needs. Methods This research was designed as a descriptive study that made use of desktop review analysis (literature study) and a questionnaire survey to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data. Desktop/literature study A comprehensive literature search using the following key words: 'contents of a CPD programme in addressing essential surgical skills in SA rural areas for GPs' , 'current level of surgical skills of GPs in rural areas' , and 'essential surgical skills set needed by GPs in rural areas' was done using search engines such as EBSCO host, PubMed, medical student.com, Medscape, Google Scholar and Google Web. The explored literature provided a conceptual and contextual frame This open-access article is distributed under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0.

Evaluation of the Spring Seedling Project—Zhaotong Program: A study of a novel continuing medical education program for rural doctors in China

“…During the second stage, in order to match the theoretical knowledge in remote education, the program design included training in various procedural skills and workshops were conducted to emphasise the importance of practical abilities. Similarly, rural GPs in South Africa are also required to engage in CME programs in order to enhance skills in essential surgical techniques and procedures 24 . Finally, the best trainees were selected to go to Shanghai to receive field training, which not only fully engaged enthusiasm, but also provided the best trainees with the opportunity to practise in relatively developed areas.…”

“…Similarly, rural GPs in South Africa are also required to engage in CME programs in order to enhance skills in essential surgical techniques and procedures. 24 Finally, the best trainees were selected to go to Shanghai to receive field training, which not only fully engaged enthusiasm, but also provided the best trainees with the opportunity to practise in relatively developed areas.…”