Quality assessment in general practice trainers

Introduction General practice trainers hold a key position in general pract ice training, especially through their provision of a role model. Their own competence in general practice care is important in this regard. The purpo se of the study was to evaluate whether a quality assessment programme coul d identify the strengths and weaknesses of GP trainers in four main domains of general practice care. Methods The quality assessment programme comprised validated tests on four domains of general practice: general medical knowledge, knowledge of medica l-technical skills, consultation skills and practice management. The criter ion for the identification of relative strengths, and weaknesses of GP trai ners was a variation in the scores of trainers indicating higher and lower scores (strengths and weaknesses) within each domain. Results GP trainers (n = 105) were invited to participate in the study and 90% (n = 94) did so. The variation in scores allowed the indication of stre ngths and weaknesses. Main strengths were: general medical knowledge of the digestive system; knowledge of medical skills relating to the skin; consul tation skills concerning empathy; practice management with regard to access ibility. Main weaknesses were: general medical knowledge of the neurologica l system; knowledge of the medical/technical skills relating to the endocri ne metabolic and nutritional system; consultation skills regarding shared d ecision making; practice management involving cooperation with staff and ot her care providers. Discussion This first systematic evaluation of GP trainers identified their strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses identified will be used in the im provement process as topics for collective improvement in the GP trainers' general curriculum and in individual learning plans.