Studies into the prescribing of antidepressants and patients' understanding of medical jargon have landed two GP Registrars with top awards to be presented at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).
Dr Jeannette Lynch,Wessex Deanery and Dr Muhammed Akunjee, London Deanery, will receive overall winners prizes of £1,000 each in this year's RCGP GP Registrar Awards, sponsored by pharmaceutical company Roche.
In her work, Dr Lynch explored the relationship between patients' understanding of depression and the duration of their treatment with antidepressants. Dr Lynch recruited 280 patients to the cross-sectional study carried out at a GP surgery in the South of England.
Her results found that those patients who believed depression was a chronic illness and who felt that antidepressants would help their illness took the medication for longer. Those who believed that depression was caused by external factors or could be helped by making changes in their life took the medication for a shorter period.
During his training, Dr Akunjee found there was confusion relating to the medical jargon used in ophthalmologist-GP correspondence. Using a questionnaire he surveyed 50 inner city London GPs on their understanding of the most common abbreviations and acronyms in 50 outpatient communication letters between ophthalmologists and general practitioners.
Of the 32 responses he received Dr Akunjee found there was a wide variance in GPs' understanding of the acronyms used.
Dr Akunjee concluded that health professionals should avoid using acronyms which mean one thing in one specialism and something else in another. Specialist operational terms should not be used in correspondence and should be replaced with full procedural detail of the term. Dr Akunjee also recommended GPs try and keep abreast of all ophthalmology terms through self directed or continued medical education.
Contact: Heather Whitney
Notes:
The GP Registrar Awards (sponsored by Roche) reward innovative work and are now in their 25th year. During the course of their training, GP Registrars undertake projects including audits usually during their general practice attachment. Further information on RCGP awards can be viewed on the RCGP website rcgp.uk/prizesandawards.
The two overall winning entries for 2006 are:
Dr Jeannette Lynch, Wessex Deanery, What are Primary Care patients' beliefs about depression and how do these relate to duration of antidepressant treatment? An exploratory study
Dr Muhammed Akunjee, London Deanery, The Understanding of Medical Acronyms used in Ophthalmologic Correspondence with General Practitioners. A Primary Health Care Survey
Drs Akunjee and Lynch each received £1,000 and a bound copy of their submission at a special dinner at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) on Wednesday 6 December.
Runners' up prizes of £400 each are being awarded to:
Dr Alexander Anderson, Yorkshire Deanery, Consenting to seeing a GP Registrar. A questionnaire study
Dr Philippa Blount, Yorkshire Deanery, Can clostridium difficile diarrhoea be safely managed in primary care?
Dr Lathifa Chowdhury, London Deanery, The measurement of fasting blood glucose in patients with a body mass index greater than 40.
Dr Liz Davies, Oxford Deanery, An Audit of Medication Knowledge in Elderly Patients with Insulin Dependent Diabetes
Dr Asim Malik, Eastern Deanery, Management of Polymyalgia Rheumatica in Primary Care
Dr Andrea Ohletz, North Western Deanery, Patient satisfaction with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in anxiety, panic attacks and/or mild depression
Dr Tamsin Robinson, London Deanery, Audit of Secondary Prevention of Osteoporosis in female patients
Dr Paul Simons, Oxford Deanery, Audit of patient waiting times in surgery
Dr Martin Sullivan, West Midlands Deanery, Documentations of offering chaperones
Dr Susan Waldron, Oxford Deanery, Differences in management of common problems between doctors in an open list practice, A Questionnaire Study
Dr Susan Watson, Yorkshire Deanery, Planning for a new service: Introduction of a screening programme for type 2 diabetes mellitus in high risk individuals
Dr Rachael Wright, Oxford Deanery, An Audit of consent for minor surgery in general practice
The Royal College of General Practitioners is the largest membership organisation in the United Kingdom solely for GPs. It aims to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and to act as the "voice" of GPs on issues concerned with education; training; research; and clinical standards. Founded in 1952, the RCGP has over 25,000 members who are committed to improving patient care, developing their own skills and promoting general practice as a discipline.
For further information please go to:
Royal College of General Practitioners
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