Studies into the prescribing of
antidepressants and patients’ understanding of medical jargon have
landed two GP Registrars with top awards to be presented tonight 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.
Ends
Press contact: Heather
Whitney RCGP Press Office 020 7344 3137 press@rcgp.org.uk
Notes to editors
Photos of awards winners will be available
from the Press Office on Thursday 7 December.
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 www.rcgp.org.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 will each receive £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.
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