Pediatric resident education and needs assessment in clinical pharmacology.

OBJECTIVE To identify perceived and unperceived educational needs of residents to organize a seminar series in clinical pharmacology. METHOD All pediatric residents (48) and all attending general pediatric staff (20) were sent structured questionnaires with potential seminar topics. Data from previous pharmacy chart audits and complaints lodged with patient care representatives were analyzed as the environmental scans. RESULTS There was a 75% response rate from both residents and staff. The responses were very similar and the only significant difference was the response to a seminar on correcting electrolyte imbalances which the residents favoured (p = 0.005). The environmental scans identified pain management as one of the main areas needing improvement. CONCLUSION Perceived learning needs of residents are similar but not identical to those identified by the faculty. Environmental scanning can be used to identify unperceived learning needs.