Documenting resident procedure and diagnostic experience: simplifying the process.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Residency Review Committee (RRC) requires documentation of family practice residents' procedural and diagnostic experiences. Further, hospital privileging is frequently based on documentation of prior clinical experience. Residency programs need a user-friendly (ie, resident-friendly) mechanism for collecting data and generating reports to document these experiences. This paper outlines a simplified, user-friendly method of documenting resident procedural and diagnostic experiences. METHODS: We developed a pocket-sized, optically scannable card for data input. This is coupled with a computerized database with report generation capability. The system is based on diagnostic clusters to further simplify the data input process. RESULTS: The system's setup costs are about $10,000. Annual maintenance and operational fees are about $5,000. After instituting the system, the number of residents submitting documentation information increased substantially. CONCLUSIONS: This system meets both RRC and potential clinical privileging requirements and provides a useful tool for guiding resident evaluation and developing appropriate training opportunities during the latter half of the residency. Simplified, accurate documentation may allow for comparisons among residents at various levels--program, state, and national.