Biomedical subjects

P Y Frasier

Publications and source records attributed to P Y Frasier.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Using the stages of change model to counsel victims of intimate partner violence.

Medical expenses from intimate partner violence (IPV) total between $3 and $5 billion annually. Many abuse victims are exposed to serious injuries, and are likely to see their physicians more frequently than other patients. Practitioners must have a reliable and realistic approach to counseling patients who are victims of IPV. This paper presents the stages of change model as a practical guide for counseling victims. Through patients' responses to a series of questions, the practitioner can identify which of five stages of change (precontemplation, preparation, contemplation, action, maintenance) the patient is in. The practitioner can then employ stage-specific strategies for counseling the patient. Using this model shifts the definition of successful outcome from the traditional focus of trying to 'fix the problem' to a patient-centered focus, working with the patient to explore the most effective strategies given his/her stage of change.

Curriculum↗

PubMed2001

Prevention practices of family medicine clerkship preceptors in North Carolina.

PURPOSE: Before implementing a new prevention curriculum, the authors assessed the prevention practices and attitudes of community family physicians in North Carolina who precepted third-year family medicine clerkship students. METHOD: An 18-item questionnaire was mailed to 165 preceptors during the 1995-96 academic year. The questionnaire explored the preceptors' levels of preparation to counsel patients, the types of prevention services they offered, and their levels of success in modifying patients' behaviors. The survey was re-sent to non-respondents. RESULTS: The response rate was 70% (n = 112); of these 75% were men and 55% had graduated after 1987. Over 60% of the preceptors "almost always" offered services in smoking cessation, exercise, diet and nutrition, and age-specific services (range 62-86%). Over 50% felt "very prepared" to counsel patients regarding smoking cessation, sexually transmitted diseases, depression, exercise, alcohol use, and age-specific services (range 53-74%). However, the preceptors in this study felt pessimistic about their success in getting patients to change their behaviors. Preceptors who had graduated more recently offered more preventive services for smoking cessation, alcohol use, and illicit drugs than did earlier graduates. DISCUSSION: Although North Carolina preceptors were pessimistic about their success in changing patients' behaviors regarding prevention, they were confident about their knowledge and skills to provide these services. This information was used to modify a prevention curriculum for third-year medical students.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Community preceptors' views of a required third-year family medicine clerkship.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies documented the importance of family medicine clerkships to medical student education and to the potential costs of precepting students borne by community physicians. But what are the physicians' views of their experience, their perceived needs for teaching, and sources of satisfaction from the preceptor role? OBJECTIVES: To explore preceptors' views of a required, third-year family medicine clerkship, focusing on satisfaction with the teaching experience, effect of having students in the practice, and concerns about continuing as a preceptor. METHODS: Preceptors from 38 private practices were asked to participate in a 15-minute telephone survey, using a semistructured interview format. RESULTS: Thirty-five physicians (92%) agreed to participate and 33 of the 35 primary preceptors were interviewed. Of those interviewed, 29 (88%) indicated a positive teaching experience, and 31 (94%) desired to continue precepting. Intangible rewards (eg, love of teaching or "giving back" to the specialty of family medicine) far out-weighed tangible rewards (eg, dinners or letters of appreciation) with regard to their desire to precept. Continued satisfaction with precepting seemed to be affected by loss of revenue to the practice, longer work hours, ability to effectively manage time and patient load, and need for additional educational resources and equipment. CONCLUSIONS: Intrinsic rewards seem to be a key factor in the physicians' decision to precept. Moreover, to reinforce the preceptor's continued desire to precept, faculty development, provision of educational tools and resources, and remuneration may be necessary. Preceptors should be asked routinely about their needs, and special programs of support should be offered.

Clinical Clerkship↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Focus groups: a useful tool for curriculum evaluation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Focus group interviews have been used extensively in health services program planning, health education, and curriculum planning. However, with the exception of a few reports describing the use of focus groups for a basic science course evaluation and a clerkship's impact on medical students, the potential of focus groups as a tool for curriculum evaluation has not been explored. Focus groups are a valid stand-alone evaluation process, but they are most often used in combination with other quantitative and qualitative methods. Focus groups rely heavily on group interaction, combining elements of individual interviews and participant observation. This article compares the focus group interview with both quantitative and qualitative methods; discusses when to use focus group interviews; outlines a protocol for conducting focus groups, including a comparison of various styles of qualitative data analysis; and offers a case study, in which focus groups evaluated the effectiveness of a pilot preclinical curriculum.

Curriculum↗