A curriculum for teaching family practice residents how to manage skin lesions

Abstract

Background and objectives: A curriculum was developed to teach family practice residents how to manage skin lesions as part of an outpatient rotation during which family practice residents are taught procedures by family medicine faculty. The curriculum can be used as a template for teaching and assessing competency for any family practice outpatient procedure.

Methods: The curriculum was pilot tested by eight second-year family practice residents and evaluated by experts in curriculum design and the methods for teaching outpatient procedural skills. Procedure checklists were used to evaluate competency.

Results: The residents scored higher on their posttests than on their pretests. The residents, implementing faculty, and outside reviewers rated the curriculum design highly. Performance of procedures did not require longer times when accomplished through this educational experience.

Conclusions: This curriculum can be used to teach family practice residents how to manage skin lesions. Residents were deemed competent to perform a procedure if they successfully followed all of the steps on the procedure checklist. A specific minimum number of procedures was not required to establish competency.