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Tip of the week: Ease physician reentry with custom education programs

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, July 22, 2011

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A 2006 study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association highlighted that physicians lack the ability to self-assess educational needs. Reeducation programs administer an educational needs assessment, which takes into account how long a physician has been absent (typically anything more than two years requires reeducation) and gauges current competencies. Reports typically outline their educational needs and recommendations of how they should address those educational needs.

Because each physician has different educational needs, there are no prescribed criteria, says Nielufar Varjavand, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine (DUCOM) and program director for the Drexel Physician Refresher/Reentry Course.
 
“Every little aspect of it is individualized based on the person’s needs and goals,” Varjavand says. “There’s no one size fits all. However, within that we do have a very structured curriculum, in that the person goes to inpatient and outpatient rounds, didactic learning along with initial assessments, assignments, homework, and post-assessments.”

Hands-on assessments are incorporated into the program with significant supervision from program administrators at the outset; this supervision gradually tapers off.

For a medical staff saddled with credentialing reentering physicians, it can be difficult to evaluate   competencies with a chunk of data missing. Even a simple needs assessment can provide medical staff members with some assurance of where a physician is in terms of medical knowledge and education.

“[Credentialing departments] feel that there is a big black box,” Grace says. “They don’t know what they are getting into. So for the physician … even if they don’t participate in the education phase with us … having the educational needs laid out allows that organization to make a more informed decision about whether to move forward with this physician.”

Grace notes that CPEP provides periodic progress reports to hospitals and credentialing departments to provide competency documentation for physicians who are simultaneously applying for hospital privileges. For physicians who request privileges after they complete the reeducation program, CPEP can release retrospective reports to help with competency assessments.

Data shows that a rigorous and standardized educational approach can be successful. In 2006, DUCOM
revamped its reentry educational program to include more comprehensive criteria, Varjavand says. According to physician surveys, since 2006 the program has maintained a near-perfect record.
“Every person whose goal was to get employment or whose goal was to get credentialed, after they  ook our course, they were 100% successful,” Varjavand says.

Ultimately, reentry programs allow practitioners to acclimate back into the medical environment while also providing some assurance for the medical staff doing the credentialing. Everyone benefits.

This week’s tip is from Credentialing Resource Center Journal, just one benefit of joining the Credentialing Resource Center.
 

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