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Surgeons say lack of patient to treat with new skills the largest barrier to applying knowledge from educational events
de Boer P. Injury. 2012. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2011.06.032
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Surgeons returning home from educational events most often find they do not have a patient to treat with the skills and knowledge they have learned, according to a study recently published in Injury.
Researchers asked 708 surgeons who attended 7 separate educational events to report on whether they encountered any barriers in applying new information into their practice. After 6 weeks, researchers contacted the surgeons and asked them to specify what barriers, if any, there were to bringing what they learned into their practice and whether they overcame those barriers.
In addition to not having an appropriate patient to apply new skills or knowledge gained, surgeons were also unable to access to equipment and facilities, particularly in the developing world, according to the abstract. The authors also encouraged the organizers of educational events to develop ways to help surgeons overcome these barriers.