Primary care physicians’ knowledge and self-perception of competency in dermatology: An evaluation study from Yemen

Abstract

Purpose: Dermatologists recognize the role of primary care clinics where 6–7% of visits are for skin complaints and are seen by primary care physicians (PCPs). Previous studies investigated PCPs' competency in dermatology but few studies investigated PCPs' knowledge and self-perception of competency in dermatology which is the main aim for the current study. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted and 40 PCPs were recruited from nine randomly selected clinics in Aden, Yemen during April–May 2014. Findings: The majority (47.5%) of PCPs perceived their competencies in diagnosing and treating skin diseases as average. There were no significant differences in classification scores of skin lesions among PCPs by self-per-ception competency group " Good, Average, Bad " . Half of the PCPs identified correctly that topical antifungal monotherapy is superior to topical antifungal/corticosteroid combinations for the treatment of fungal skin infections. Only 12.5% of PCPs cor-rectly identified that glucocorticoids are not the first-line treatment for anaphylactic reactions. Proper knowledge in allergy and skin infections seems to be associated with higher ability to classify skin lesions (p < 0.05). Implications: self-perception of competency was not associated with higher ability to classify skin lesions. PCPs need continuing medical education to improve their knowledge in dermatology., is associate professor of Dermatology and Venereal diseases at Aden University, Yemen. Her research focuses on infectious skin diseases among children and developing preventive measures to reduce such infections mainly among poor patients. One of these measures is to adequately train primary care physicians who work in primary care clinics where the majority of poor patients in Yemen seek medical care. PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT Competent physicians feel confident about their own ability to manage health problems and have adequate level of knowledge to diagnose and treat such health problems. We studied how primary care physicians (PCPs) assess their own competency in diagnosing and treating the common skin diseases in Aden, Yemen and how this affects their ability to classify skin lesions. We also assessed their knowledge regarding the common skin diseases seen in primary care clinics in Aden. Our study shows that self-perception of competency was not associated with higher ability of classifying skin lesions and that PCPs were not properly prepared to manage the common skin diseases in Aden. Our findings call for providing continuous medical education for PCPs in skin diseases.