A medical informatics curriculum for 21st century family practice residencies

Background and Objectives: An informatics curriculum was developed by integrating evidence-based medicine, communication and behavioral sciences, patient education, and computer skills. Introduction of an electronic medical record (EMR) to our family practice center was a focal point of this training. Our objective was to measure whether the new curriculum improved our residents' informatics skills and computer knowledge. Methods: Before and after institution of the curriculum, residents' self-rated skills and attitudes were measured with a questionnaire. They also took an objective test of informatics skills after the curriculum was implemented, and their scores were compared to scores from five other control residencies that did not use the curriculum. Results: The curriculum, including use of the electronic record, was successfully implemented and tested. The curriculum improved residents' self-ratings of informatics knowledge and computer skills, but the objective test did not show a significant difference between programs. Conclusions: After implementation of a medical informatics curriculum, residents self-reported an improvement in computer and informatics skills. The objective measurement of knowledge did not demonstrate the benefit of our curriculum compared to other programs.