The perceived relevance, utility and retention of basic sciences in general practice

Faith O. Alele; Francis A. Albert; Emma Anderson; Abdul-Aziz Seidu; Hannah Mason; Paula Heggarty; Aaron Hollins; Tarun Sen Gupta; Lawrie McArthur; Richard B. Hays; Bunmi S. Malau-Aduli

doi:10.1186/s12909-024-05750-2

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The perceived relevance, utility and retention of basic sciences in general practice

Journal article

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The perceived relevance, utility and retention of basic sciences in general practice

Faith O. Alele, Francis A. Albert, Emma Anderson, Abdul-Aziz Seidu, Hannah Mason, Paula Heggarty, Aaron Hollins, Tarun Sen Gupta, Lawrie McArthur, Richard B. Hays, …

BMC Medical Education, Vol.24, pp.1-12

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05750-2

PMCID: PMC11285199

PMID: 39075437

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Abstract

Background Basic sciences are crucial for clinical medicine, yet studies focusing on their perceived utility among general practitioners (GPs) are sparse. Considering the broad scope of GPs’ practice, an in-depth understanding of basic sciences is fundamental for making informed clinical decisions. This study evaluated GP registrars’ retention and perceptions of the utility of basic sciences in clinical practice. Methods Using sequential explanatory mixed methods study design, knowledge retention was assessed by a multiple-choice question (MCQ) examination followed by interviews on the perception of the relevance and utility of basic sciences among GP registrars at James Cook University's (JCU) General Practice Training (GPT) program. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted on the MCQ exam data, while thematic analysis was employed for the qualitative interview data. Results Sixty-one GP registrars participated in the MCQ exam, while 11 of them were involved in the interviews. The highest mean score was obtained in biochemistry (75.1 ± 2.23) while the lowest mean score was in anatomy (56.07 ± 3.16). Key performance predictors included the formative clinical examination scores (β = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.45 to 1.2, p < 0.001) and gender (β = -9.7, 95% CI: -17 to -2.3, p = 0.011). The qualitative data analysis revealed five themes, including the backbone of clinical medicine, varying utility over time and by specialty, clinical synthesis integrates encapsulated knowledge, professional pressures hinder revisitation of knowledge and knowledge renewal enhances updates. Conclusion Basic sciences were considered relevant in clinical practice. Development of continuing professional development (CPDs) sessions and clinically relevant online resources were measures proposed to enhance the retention of knowledge. Future research could focus on innovative educational strategies for GPs.

Details

Title: The perceived relevance, utility and retention of basic sciences in general practice
Authors: Faith O. Alele - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Public Health
Francis A. Albert - James Cook University
Emma Anderson - James Cook University
Abdul-Aziz Seidu - James Cook University
Hannah Mason - James Cook University
Paula Heggarty - James Cook University
Aaron Hollins - James Cook University
Tarun Sen Gupta - James Cook University
Lawrie McArthur - The University of Adelaide
Richard B. Hays - James Cook University
Bunmi S. Malau-Aduli (Corresponding Author) - James Cook University
Publication details: BMC Medical Education, Vol.24, pp.1-12
Publisher: BioMed Central Ltd.
Date published: 2024
DOI: 10.1186/s12909-024-05750-2
ISSN: 1472-6920
PMID: 39075437; PMC11285199
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
Data Availability: The data can be obtained from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Grant note: This project was funded by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Public Health
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991050565802621
Output Type: Journal article

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