Impact of the Curso de Perfeccionamiento: An Audit of the Effectiveness of the Physician Retraining Program at the University of Puerto Rico. Final Report for Cursos 1 and 2.

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103

Puerto Rico Univ., San Juan. School of Medicine.

Analysis of Variance; Comparative Analysis; Physicians; Professional Continuing Education; Program Evaluation; Research Reports; Retraining; Statistical Analysis; Test Results; Tests

The University of Puerto Rico Medical School conducted six-month Physician Retraining Programs (Curos de Perfecionamiento) for two groups of foreign trained physicians starting in the Summer of 1970 and the Spring of 1971, respectively. The characteristics of the 84 participants in these programs are examined in terms of pre-Curso medical knowledge and licensing indices and academic potential; Curso achievement indices; and post-Curso medical knowledge and licensing indices. Findings indicate that the physicians in the two programs: (1) were essentially equivalent prior to Curso participation; (2) showed significant but differential gain during the programs; and (3) performed somewhat better on subsequent Puerto Rico licensing examinations than a group of foreign-trained physicians from the general population. All indications, therefore, suggest the success of the Curso in improving the medical knowledge of participants and improving the likelihood of their subsequent licensing (and thus better utilization in a sparse health manpower pool). (Author)

1974

ED083282