Observations: Scoring Pediatrics Residents: A Step Toward Reforming Medical Education and Improving Pediatric Health Care in Iraq

摘要

Because residents are expected to be competent in order to provide the community with basic health care, and often have the most frequent contact with patients, then residents can also serve as the primary means for the early identification and management of various health problems. In Iraq, medical education consists of 6 years of medical school, at the end of which the student is offered a MB ChB degree. After graduation, there is a mandatory 12 months of full-time residency at a university or government hospital. During this year, graduates rotate through 4 major specialties, including internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, and pediatrics, as well as minor specialties. After completing residency, there are at least 2 years of obligatory service in an underserved area, after which the physician has the option to work as a general practitioner or a senior house officer. Furthermore, for training in pediatrics, a minimum of 2 years as a senior house officer is required. Candidates for pediatrics training undergo a competitive process of an oral interview, a written application, and a review of their scores in pediatrics in undergraduate study. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's Outcome Project has sought to effect change in residency programs by concentrating education on competency domains, enhancing assessment of resident performance, and aggregating the use of educational outcomes to improve resident education.1 One of the aims of the Outcome Project is to have regular assessment of residents. There are many assessment tools used to test pediatrics residents' competence (table), and the ideal way to evaluate residents is to employ different tools to assess various competencies. View larger version (30K) TABLEExamples of Assessment Tools Used to Test Residents' Competencies