Elizabeth Steiner

Detection and Description of Small Breast Masses by Residents Trained Using a Standardized Clinical Breast Exam Curriculum

OBJECTIVESWe evaluated the effect of standardized clinical breast examination (CBE) training on residents’ ability to detect a 3-mm breast mass in a silicone breast model.METHODSIn this nonrandomized controlled trial, 75 first year residents (R1s) at 8 family medicine, internal medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology training programs received the intervention and second year residents (R2s) did not. Trained residency faculty taught R1s vertical strip, three-pressure method (VS3PM) CBE using a standardized curriculum, including a 1- to 2-hour online self-study with video and 2.5-hour practicum using silicone models and a trained patient surrogate.RESULTSSolitary mass detection: 84% by R1s, 46% by R2s (RR = 1.82, 95%CI = 1.36, 2.43, P < 0.0001). Of those finding a mass, 62% of R1s and 10% of R2s used at least 5 of 8 standardized descriptors (RR = 6.19, 95%CI = 2.06, 18.59, P = 0.001). R1s false positive findings were not statistically different from R2s (P = 0.54). Both the use of VS3PM and total time spent on CBE were independently highly predictive of finding the mass in either group.CONCLUSIONSMost untrained primary care residents are not proficient in CBE. Standardized VS3PM CBE training improves the ability to detect and describe a small mass in a silicone breast model. Better CBE training for residents may improve the early detection of breast cancer.

Discovery of breast cancers within 1 year of a normal screening mammogram: how are they found?

PURPOSE We sought to determine how breast cancers that occur within 1 year after a normal mammogram are discovered. METHODS Using population-based mammography registry data from 2000–2002, we identified 143 women with interval breast cancers and 481 women with screen-detected breast cancers. We surveyed women’s primary care clinicians to assess how the interval breast cancers were found and factors associated with their discovery. RESULTS Women with interval cancers were twice as likely to have a personal history of breast cancer (30.1%) as women with screen-detected cancers (13.6%). Among women with interval cancers, one half of the invasive tumors (49.5%) were discovered when women initiated a health care visit because of a breast concern, and 16.8% were discovered when a clinician found an area of concern while conducting a routine clinical breast examination. Having a lump and both a personal and a family history of breast cancer was the most common reason why women initiated a health care visit (44%) (P <.01). CONCLUSIONS Women with interval cancers are most likely to initiate a visit to a primary care clinician when they have 2 or more breast concerns. These concerns are most likely to include having a lump and a personal and/or family history of breast cancer. Women at highest risk for breast cancer may need closer surveillance by their primary care clinicians and may benefit from a strong educational message to come for a visit as soon as they find a lump.

A View from Cheyenne Mountain: Generation III’s Perspective of Keystone III

In October 2000 the family of family medicine convened the Keystone III conference at Cheyenne Mountain Resort. Keystone III participants included members of Generation I (entered practice before 1970), Generation II (entered 1970–1990), and Generation III (entered after 1990). They represented a wide range of family physicians, from medical students to founders of the discipline, and from small-town solo practice to academic medicine. During the conference, the three generations worked together and separately thinking about the past, present, and future of family medicine, our roles in it, and how the understanding of a family physician and our discipline had and would continue to evolve. After the conference, the 10 Generation III members wrote the article published here, reflecting on our experiences as new physicians and physicians in training, and the similarities and differences between our experiences and those of physicians in Generations I and II. Key similarities included commitment to whole-person care, to a wide scope of practice, to community health, and to ongoing engagement with our discipline. Key differences included our understanding of availability, the need for work-life balance, the role of technology in the physician-patient relationship, and the perceptions of the relationship between medicine and a range of outside forces such as insurance and government. This article, presented with only minor edits, thus reflects accurately our perceptions in late 2000. The accompanying editorial reflects our current perspective.

The Changing World of Family Medicine: The New View From Cheyenne Mountain

Electronic health records. Smart phones. Near-universal broad-band Internet access. Asynchronous communication. Electronic visits. Telemedicine. Patient-centered primary care homes (medical homes). Team-based care. A wide range of practice models. Hospitalists. Value-based purchasing. Accountable