Skills for the beginning family medicine investigator.

The purpose of this study was to identify the necessary skills for a beginning researcher in family medicine, utilizing the views of those currently conducting research in the specialty. A Delphi study, involving three questionnaires, was conducted to determine skills needed in the following areas: designing a research project, conducting a research project, statistical knowledge and/or skills, and computer skills. Participants were 32 family physicians who had published at least one article in the Journal of Family Practice (1983-84) or Family Medicine (1983-84). The Delphi technique was successful in achieving consensus among study participants. A total of 77 skills were identified in the four areas as being at least somewhat important to the beginning family medicine investigator. Thirty-eight of these skills were identified as important to extremely important.

Affective changes in faculty development fellows in family medicine.

The authors investigated the perceptions of 20 faculty development fellows in family medicine to determine whether they were more comfortable in clinical teaching roles after completing a fellowship. The fellows were asked to rate themselves and the ideal clinical teacher at the beginning and end of the fellowship. Comparisons of the fellows' pretest and posttest results were made on each of three factors (authority, sensitivity, and capability) that had been identified as characteristic of the ideal clinical teacher in family medicine. The results of the ratings indicated that the fellows changed their perceptions of themselves as clinical teachers substantially on two of the factors during the fellowship. In addition, on the posttest the fellows' perceptions of themselves matched their own profiles of ideal clinical teachers and on two of the factors matched the profile of an ideal clinical teacher of a sample of 215 clinical teachers in family medicine.