What do doctors think their caseload should be to maintain their skills for delivery care?
OBJECTIVE
To seek the opinions of doctors on what they thought the minimum, maximum and optimum annual caseload should be for the maintenance of skills and competence in a variety of obstetric procedures.


METHODS
An expert panel of respondents from Africa and Asia was asked to give their opinions on what they believed the minimum, maximum and optimum caseload should be for 11 obstetric procedures via a series of structured questionnaires (Delphi exercise). In subsequent questionnaires, participants were asked if they wished to reconsider their opinions in light of the group response.


RESULTS
The median values of responses given for the minimum, maximum and optimum caseloads for the 11 obstetric procedures did not change substantially over time, though greater consensus was developed as indicated by reductions in the size of inter-quartile ranges in later rounds.


CONCLUSIONS
We encountered several problems associated with using the Delphi technique in this context, which throws doubt on the validity and usefulness of our results. Caseload is just one of many factors, as indicated by our expert panel that need to be considered when planning the delivery of obstetric services in remote areas. High quality training, continued medical education, appropriate quality assurance procedures, and provision of a supportive enabling environment are also important requirements. In addition, the views of clinicians need to be balanced against more objective evidence of quality of care and patient outcome in relation to procedural volume. Such evidence is lacking in the field of obstetrics and requires further investigation.
Scotland
G S
GS
Dugald Baird Centre for Research on Women's Health, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Aberdeen, UK. g.scotland@abdn.ac.uk
Bullough
C H W
CH
D000349:Africa; D001208:Asia; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003697:Delphi Technique; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods; D004630:Emergencies; D006801:Humans; D013513:Obstetric Surgical Procedures; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*