The one-on-one ratio of detailer to physicians is unique in medical education. It allows for more open and honest discussions and provides a safe environment for the detailer and physician to ask each other questions and challenge each other’s thinking on issues that aren’t often well represented in literature.
The nature of this one-on-one education intervention leaves participating physicians feeling valued and supported which is vital to long-term care home physician retention and recruitment efforts. Our approach as a multidisciplinary team to the management of responsive behaviours (or BPSD) has improved overall.
The BPSD module provided us all with a framework to better understand, assess, document and manage these behaviours. As a result, we are using fewer pharmacological interventions and if a pharmacological intervention is necessary, we work together to minimize the dose and duration of this treatment.
Academic detailing is a very effective way to engage, educate and support those practicing long-term care. Engaging, educating and supporting physicians at a provider level can cause them to integrate best-practices into their care. This way, they are more likely to think creatively about solutions to the challenges ahead of us in long-term care.
– Dr. Scott Nash, Medical Director, Wentworth Lodge