BMJ 2002;325:669-670 ( 28 September )

Editorials

How can good performance among doctors be maintained?

Department of Health's proposals are wise but need to be implemented with care

See also p 704

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The Royal College of Physicians, the BMA, the Patients' Association, and the Institute of Health Care Management (among others) have backed the Department of Health's call for doctors to have annual appraisals, for continuing professional development, and for the revalidation of doctors.1 The collective concern of these bodies is to ensure that doctors continue to develop their competence and provide a high standard of care for patients. What evidence is there that these strategies make a difference?

Feedback on performance and objective setting are the two fundamental components of appraisal. The evidence is strong that feedback on individuals' job performance is associated with improvements in performance and reductions in error rates across all employment sectors.2 Moreover, setting goals is associated with improved performance, particularly where the goals are set collaboratively with professionals and where they are specific and challenging (rather than vague or "do your best" goals).2 Training (or continuing . . . [Full text of this article]
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Measuring "goodness" in individuals and healthcare systems
Mike Pringle, Tim Wilson, and Richard Grol
BMJ 2002 325: 704-707. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Raleigh, V S, Hussey, D, Seccombe, I, Qi, R (2009). Do associations between staff and inpatient feedback have the potential for improving patient experience? An analysis of surveys in NHS acute trusts in England. Qual Saf Health Care 18: 347-354 [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Conlon, M. (2003). Appraisal: the catalyst of personal development. BMJ 327: 389-391 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

opportunity squandered
douglas salmon
bmj.com, 30 Sep 2002 [Full text]
Greater caution needed in interpreting research evidence
Nick Black
bmj.com, 3 Oct 2002 [Full text]
Access jobs at BMJ Careers
Whats new online at Student BMJ