title: A Curriculum on Care for Complex Patients: Resident Perspectives.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Caring for patients with a challenging mix of medical, psychological, and social problems may easily overwhelm residents. We developed a month-long "Care for Complex Patients" curriculum for second-year residents to improve their ability to care for this group of patients by increasing their understanding of why the care is complex and by building communication, teamwork, and resource management skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  Surveys and focus groups were used to assess the impact of the curriculum. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to evaluate responses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between 2008 and 2010, 24 residents completed our rotation. Eighty-three percent completed the pre-curriculum and post-curriculum surveys. Residents' self-ratings significantly improved in all 11 complex care management skills, and residents reported increased confidence when working with patients whose care was complex. Residents were surprised to learn about all the community resources and began using these resources when providing care for these patients. Despite rating themselves improved, a large number of residents still rated themselves as not competent in many of the skills.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A curriculum for residents focused on education in 11 key skill areas in the care of complex patients led to increased self-confidence and willingness to provide complex care. However, 1 month of training is an insufficient amount of time to help most learners achieve self-assessed ratings of capable and competent in using these key skills when caring for complex patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Osborn
authors.forename: Jaqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Raetz
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huntington
authors.forename: Frederica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Overstreet
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mauksch
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035862:Vulnerable Populations; D014861:Washington