scholarly journals Doctors' attitudes and confidence towards providing nutrition care in practice: Comparison of New Zealand medical students, general practice registrars and general practitioners

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Crowley ◽  
Lauren Ball ◽  
Dug Yeo Han ◽  
Anne-Thea McGill ◽  
Bruce Arroll ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Nutrition Therapy ◽  
Routine Care ◽  
Nutrition Care ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Health Knowledge Attitudes Practice

INTRODUCTION: Improvements in individuals' nutrition behaviour can improve risk factors and outcomes associated with lifestyle-related chronic diseases. AIM: This study describes and compares New Zealand medical students, general practice registrars and general practitioners' (GPs') attitudes towards incorporating nutrition care into practice, and self-perceived skills in providing nutrition care. METHODS: A total of 183 New Zealand medical students, 51 general practice registrars and 57 GPs completed a 60-item questionnaire investigating attitudes towards incorporating nutrition care into practice and self-perceived skills in providing nutrition care. Items were scored using a 5-point Likert scale. Factor analysis was conducted to group questionnaire items and a generalised linear model compared differences between medical students, general practice registrars and GPs. RESULTS: All groups indicated that incorporating nutrition care into practice is important. GPs displayed more positive attitudes than students towards incorporating nutrition in routine care (p<0.0001) and performing nutrition recommendations (p<0.0001). General practice registrars were more positive than students towards performing nutrition recommendations (p=0.004), specified practices (p=0.037), and eliciting behaviour change (p=0.024). All groups displayed moderate confidence towards providing nutrition care. GPs were more confident than students in areas relating to wellness and disease (p<0.0001); macronutrients (p=0.030); micronutrients (p=0.010); and women, infants and children (p<0.0001). DISCUSSION: New Zealand medical students, general practice registrars and GPs have positive attitudes and moderate confidence towards incorporating nutrition care into practice. It is possible that GPs' experience providing nutrition care contributes to greater confidence. Strategies to facilitate medical students developing confidence in providing nutrition care are warranted. KEYWORDS: General practitioner; health knowledge, attitudes, practice; medical education; nutrition therapy

scholarly journals New Zealand Medical Students Have Positive Attitudes and Moderate Confidence in Providing Nutrition Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Crowley ◽  
Lauren Ball ◽  
Dug Yeo Han ◽  
Bruce Arroll ◽  
Michael Leveritt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Nutrition Care ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Inadequate Nutrition

Throughout the world, medical students and doctors report inadequate nutrition education and subsequently lack of knowledge, attitude, and skills to include nutrition in patient care. This study described New Zealand’s students’ attitudes to and self-perceived skills in providing nutrition care in practice as well as perceived quantity and quality of nutrition education received in training. 183 medical students from New Zealand’s largest medical school (response rate 52%) completed a 65-item questionnaire, partially validated, using 5-point Likert scales. Students believed incorporating nutrition care into practice is important, yet they were less confident patients improve nutrition behaviours after receiving this care. Students were confident in skills related to nutrition in health and disease but less confident in skills related to general food knowledge. Greater quantity and quality of nutrition education received was associated with greater self-perceived skills in providing nutrition care to patients but not with attitudes towards incorporating nutrition care into practice. This cohort of New Zealand medical students places similarly high importance on nutrition care as students and doctors from other countries. Further investigations beyond graduation are required to inform whether additional nutrition education is warranted for these doctors.

scholarly journals Repeat prescribing policy in New Zealand general practice: making it better

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 373
Author(s):  
Steven Lillis ◽  
Liza Lack
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Protected Time ◽  
Repeat Prescribing ◽  
General Practices

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTIONRepeat prescribing is common in New Zealand general practice. Research also suggests that repeat prescribing is a process prone to error. All New Zealand general practices have to comply with requirements to have a repeat prescribing policy, with the details of the policy to be designed by the practice. AIMTo inform the development of practice policy, research was undertaken with experienced general practitioners to identify and mitigate risk in the process. METHODSAt the 2019 annual conference of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, a workshop was held with 58 experienced general practitioner participants. The group was divided into six small groups, each with the task of discussing one aspect of the repeat prescribing process. The results were then discussed with the whole group and key discussion points were transcribed and analysed. RESULTSIssues identified included: improving patient education on appropriateness of repeat prescribing; having protected time for medicine reconciliation and the task of repeat prescribing; reducing the number of personnel and steps in the process; and clarity over responsibility for repeat prescribing. DISCUSSIONThis research can inform the local development of a repeat prescribing policy at the practice level or be used to critique existing practice policies. Attention was also drawn to the increasing administrative burden that repeat prescribing contributes to in general practice.

scholarly journals The anatomical placement of body organs by Australian and New Zealand patients and health professionals in general practice

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjan Kljakovic ◽  
Jo Risk
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Doctor Patient Communication ◽  
Correct Placement ◽  
General Practices ◽  
Gp Visits ◽  
Health Administrators ◽  
Better Than

INTRODUCTION: Understanding patients’ awareness of the anatomical placement of their body organs is important for doctor–patient communication. AIM: To measure the correct anatomical placement of body organs by people from Australian and New Zealand general practices METHOD: A questionnaire survey containing drawings of 11 organs placed in different locations within each drawing. RESULTS: Among 1156 participants, there was no difference in the proportion of correct placement of 11 organs between Australian (51.7%) and New Zealand (49.6%) general practices. There was a positive correlation between the proportion of correctly placed organs and the age participants left school (p=0.012) and a negative correlation with the number of GP visits in the previous year (p=0.040). Participants from rural Australia were more likely to correctly place organs than urban participants (p=0.018). The mean proportion of organs correctly placed for doctors was 80.5%, nurses 66.5%, allied health 61.5%, health administrators 50.6% and the remaining consulting patients 51.3%. DISCUSSION: Patients from Australian and New Zealand general practice were poorly aware of the correct placement of organs. Health professionals were moderately better than patients at correct placement. KEYWORDS: Health knowledge; attitudes; practice; anatomy; general practice

scholarly journals Relationship between decile score of secondary school, the size of town of origin and career intentions of New Zealand medical students

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clinton Mitchell ◽  
Boaz Shulruf ◽  
Phillippa Poole
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Rural Students ◽  
Career Intentions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Lower Decile

INTRODUCTION: New Zealand is facing a general practice workforce crisis, especially in rural communities. Medical school entrants from low decile schools or rural locations may be more likely to choose rural general practice as their career path. AIM: To determine whether a relationship exists between secondary school decile rating, the size of the town of origin of medical students and their subsequent medical career intentions. METHODS: University of Auckland medical students from 2006 to 2008 completed an entry questionnaire on a range of variables thought important in workforce determination. Analyses were performed on data from the 346 students who had attended a high school in New Zealand. RESULTS: There was a close relationship between size of town of origin and decile of secondary school. Most students expressed interests in a wide range of careers, with students from outside major cities making slightly fewer choices on average. DISCUSSION: There is no strong signal from these data that career speciality choices will be determined by decile of secondary school or size of town of origin. An increase in the proportion of rural students in medical programmes may increase the number of students from lower decile schools, without adding another affirmative action pathway. KEYWORDS: Education, medical; social class; career choice

scholarly journals Features and realization of "permeating program" for training general practitioners – family doctors in undergraduate stage

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1 (69)) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. S. Mykhailovska
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Family Medicine ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Process Optimization ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Practical Skills ◽  
Family Doctors ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Medical University

This work provides ways of teaching process optimization of the discipline “General practice – family medicine” in the undergraduate stage in higher medical educational institutions of Ukraine considering the experience gained in Zaporozhzhia State Medical University. The basic aspects of the “Permeating program” realization concerning the training of medical students of IV level of accreditation in practical skills and learning techniques necessary to work as general practitioners – family doctors.

Non-graduate and graduate entry medical students attitudes to psychiatry

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Pillay ◽  
F. Sundram ◽  
D. Mullins ◽  
N. Rizvi ◽  
T. Grant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Career Choice ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Graduate Entry ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Follow Up Studies ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Students Attitudes

ObjectiveGraduate entry medical students’ views of psychiatry may differ from those of school leavers. This study hypothesised that (i) exposure to a psychiatry attachment is associated with a positive change in attitudes towards psychiatry in both graduate entry and non-graduate entry students, (ii) graduate entry students exhibit a more positive attitude to psychiatry compared to non-graduate entry students and (iii) graduate entry students are more interested in a career in psychiatry than non-graduate entry students.MethodsIn this study 247 medical students (118 females and 129 males) completing their psychiatry rotation were invited to complete questionnaires examining career choice, attitudes to psychiatry and career attractiveness for a range of specialties including surgery, medicine, general practice and psychiatry before and after their psychiatry attachment. Questionnaires were distributed prior to commencement of their attachment and redistributed on the final day of the attachment.ResultsOf the 165 participants in the study, 75 students entered medicine via the traditional route (without a primary degree), 49 entered via the graduate entry programme and 41 had a primary degree. Overall, medical students displayed positive attitudes towards psychiatry. However, while there was an improvement in attitudes towards psychiatry and the career attractiveness of psychiatry on completion of the rotation, no differences were found between graduate and non-graduate entry students. Psychiatry and general practice had lower ratings for career attractiveness than other specialities. No significant changes were found in the first and second choice of specialty.ConclusionOur results show that improvements in attitude and career attractiveness do not necessarily correlate with increased choice of psychiatry as a specialty. Graduate entry has been considered a possible opportunity for increasing recruitment in psychiatry but our results suggest that this may not be the case. Follow-up studies are required to determine whether career attractiveness correlates with future career choice.

scholarly journals General practitioners can offer effective nutrition care to patients with lifestyle-related chronic disease

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Ball ◽  
Cristina Johnson ◽  
Ben Desbrow ◽  
Michael Leveritt
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Vegetable Intake ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Nutrition Care ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Nutrition Behaviour

INTRODUCTION: Nutrition is a key priority for the management of lifestyle-related chronic disease, and the demand on general practitioners (GPs) to provide nutrition care is increasing. AIM: The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the effectiveness of nutrition care provided by GPs in improving the nutrition-related behaviour and subsequent health outcomes of individuals with lifestyle-related chronic disease. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted using the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE and ISI Web of Knowledge databases. Randomised controlled trials that investigated a nutrition care intervention feasible within general practice consultations, and that utilised outcome measures relevant to nutritionrelated behaviour or indicators of health, were included in the review. RESULTS: Of the 131 articles screened for inclusion, nine studies, totalling 9564 participants, were included in the review. Five interventions observed improvements in the nutrition behaviour of participants, such as a reduction of energy consumption, reduction of meat consumption, increase in fruit and vegetable intake, increase in fish intake and increase in fibre intake. Seven interventions observed improvements in risk factors, including in weight, serum lipid levels and blood pressure. Some inconsistencies in findings were observed in the reviewed studies. DISCUSSION: This systematic review demonstrates that GPs have the potential to provide nutrition care that improves the nutrition behaviour and risk factors in individuals with lifestyle-related chronic disease. However, the consistency and clinical significance of the intervention outcomes are unclear. Further investigation regarding the development of nutrition care protocols and the attributes of nutrition care that result in improved outcomes are required. KEYWORDS: Chronic disease; general practice; general practitioners; nutritional management

scholarly journals Influences on final year medical students’ attitudes to general practice as a career

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Parker ◽  
Ben Hudson ◽  
Tim Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Personal Contact ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Clinical Placements ◽  
Negative Comments ◽  
The Media ◽  
Students Attitudes

INTRODUCTION: General practice is under-represented in student career choices. This study aimed to identify and explore factors that influence the attitudes of final year medical students to general practice as a career. METHODS: This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews of focus groups of final year undergraduate medical students at the University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand. Thematic analysis and grounded theory were used to interpret the data. FINDINGS: General practitioners (GPs) play a key role in influencing medical students’ attitudes to general practice as a career. Students identified their general practice placement during medical school training and personal contact with their own GP as principal factors. The media portrayal of general practice and the attitudes of friends and family were also influential. Students were positively influenced when they were made to feel part of the team, involved with consultations, allowed to carry out practical procedures under supervision, and witnessed what they perceived as good medical practice during clinical placements. Positive experiences often occurred later in training, when students felt more confident of their clinical abilities. While students reported occasional negative comments about general practice by some hospital doctors, these had a lesser role in influencing their perceptions of general practice compared with their own experiences, both as students and patients. CONCLUSION: GPs have a strong influence, positively and negatively, on the attitudes of medical students to general practice as a career. Effective influences include being made to feel welcome, involved, valued, and given legitimate roles during clinical placements. KEYWORDS: Career choice; general practice; general practitioners; medical education; students, medical

scholarly journals Australian and New Zealand Medical Students’ Attitudes and Confidence towards Providing Nutrition Care in Practice

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Breanna Lepre ◽  
Jennifer Crowley ◽  
Dineo Mpe ◽  
Harsh Bhoopatkar ◽  
Kylie J. Mansfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Nutrition Knowledge ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Nutrition Care ◽  
Students Attitudes

The prevalence of lifestyle-related chronic disease is increasing. Doctors in primary care are ideally placed to support patient nutrition care, but recent reviews show education is still lacking. This study aimed to identify medical students’ attitudes towards the role of nutrition in health, nutrition knowledge, and perceptions of nutrition education, in postgraduate (Australia) and undergraduate (New Zealand) programs in order to identify gaps in nutrition knowledge and skills to better inform future education. Second-year graduate and third-year undergraduate students participated in semi-structured focus groups and interviews. A general inductive approach was used to investigate students’ (1) attitudes toward the role of nutrition in health, (2) nutrition knowledge based on nutrition-specific competencies and (3) perceived adequacy of nutrition education received. Interviews (nine) and focus groups (seven) identified four common themes: (1) role of medical practitioners in nutrition care, (2) barriers to nutrition education, (3) nutrition knowledge, and (4) nutrition-related skills. Students perceive that doctors are well-placed to provide some level of nutrition care, but poor translation of nutrition knowledge to clinical contexts is a key limitation in nutrition education. In summary, nutrition education may be insufficient to support the nutrition-related competency development of the undergraduate and postgraduate student participants in this study. Focusing on the integration of these skills into the curriculum may be a priority.

scholarly journals Direct observation of the nutrition care practices of Australian general practitioners

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Ball ◽  
Ben Desbrow ◽  
Michael Yelland ◽  
Michael Leveritt
Keyword(s):  
General Practitioners ◽  
Related Problem ◽  
Practice Nurse ◽  
Nutrition Therapy ◽  
Food Group ◽  
Nutrition Care ◽  
Fourth Year Medical Students ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Disease Family ◽  
Nutrition Behaviour

INTRODUCTION: Nutrition care refers to nutrition-related advice or counselling provided by health professionals in an attempt to improve the nutrition behaviour of patients. AIM: The aim of this study was to describe the practices of a sample of Australian general practitioners (GPs) when providing nutrition care to adult patients. METHODS: Eighteen GPs (13 male, 5 female) were observed by fourth-year medical students during their general practice rotation. Each GP was observed for five consultations that included nutrition care, totalling 90 observed consultations. In each consultation, students completed a 31-item nutrition care checklist of nutrition care practices that could feasibly occur in a standard consultation. Each practice was marked with either a ‘yes’ (completed), ‘no’ (did not complete) or ‘completed by practice nurse prior to or after the consultation’. RESULTS: Twenty-eight nutrition care practices were observed at least once. The most frequently observed practices were measuring and discussing blood pressure (76.7%; n=69), followed by general questions about current diet (74.4%; n=67). Approximately half of the consultations included a statement of a nutrition-related problem (52.2%; n=47), and the provision of nutrition advice that focused on a nutrient (45.6%; n=41) or food group (52.2%; n=47). Consultations with male GPs, as well as GPs with more than 25 years of experience, were associated with an increased number of nutrition care practices per consultation. DISCUSSION: The GPs performed nutrition care practices in varying frequencies. Further research is required to identify the most effective GP nutrition care practices to improve the nutrition behaviour of patients. KEYWORDS: Chronic disease; family practice; general practitioners, nutrition therapy

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