A study of educational needs of general physicians in selected areas

Background:Despite the large amount of information that general physicians need to gain ,It is necessary to prioritize the need for learning in the formulation and design of educational programs. This study aims to determine the most important priorities of general medical graduates in selected areas.Methods:This cross-sectional study (2016) was conducted on 400 general practitioners who had at least 3 years of clinical practice beginning as a general practitioner. Data were collected through demographic variables and valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire in four domains included internal medicine (18 items), neurological diseases (7 items), pediatrics (26 items) and emergency medicine (20 items). Data were analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive index and chi-square test (P <0.05). Results:Three primary priorities in internal medicine, were blood pressure (76%), diabetes (68.3%) and hyperlipidemia (61.5%), in pediatric, were fever (72%), gastroenteritis (58%) and pneumonia (59.8%). %), in neurology, were Headache (78.3%), dizziness (54.8%) and limb weakness (27.3%) and in emergency, were hypertension (77%), asthma attack (46%) and Trauma (41%). There were no significant differences between education priorities in some internal and pediatric areas including diabetes, fever and enterogastric and sex (p> 0.05). There was a significant difference in the emergency areas and years of employment. (P< 0.05) Conclusion: Assessment of educational need and design of appropriate programs for general practitioners in order to improve the level of knowledge and better performance in order to provide appropriate health care should be prioritized.