Investigation of knowledge levels of family physicians on otorhinolaryngology

Objective: There is no rotation of Ear Nose Throat (ENT) diseases in Family Medicine speciality training. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the knowledge level of family physicians on ENT diseases and to reveal the necessity of ENT diseases rotation in speciality training. Materials and Methods: Our research is a cross-sectional-descriptive survey study. The population of the research consists of family medicine speciality students, specialist family physicians and contracted family physicians. There are 3 sections in the questionnaire consisting of 60 questions in total. The first part consists of sociodemographic information, the second part consists of self-evaluation questions, and the third part consists of information questions about ENT diseases frequently encountered in primary care. Analyzes were evaluated in 22 package programs of SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Results: A total of 362 family physicians were included in the study. After graduation, during in-service training or seminars, the self-assessment and ENT knowledge scores of those who received ENT training were found to be significantly higher. The self-assessment and ENT knowledge scores of those who did not receive ENT training in the faculty of medicine and during the family medicine residency training or practice were found to be significantly lower. The self-assessment and ENT knowledge scores of the participants, who pass a long time over the training they received on ENT, were found to be significantly lower.A positive and significant correlation was observed between the self-assessment score and the ENT knowledge score in family physicians. Conclusion: ENT diseases have an important place in primary care in our country and in the world. According to the results we obtained in our study, it is seen that the self-confidence and competence of the physicians with a good education level are higher. Considering all these together, it was concluded that it would be beneficial to make ENT trainings compulsory in family physicians' residency training processes and in-service seminars. Keywords: Family Medicine, ENT Diseases, Specialization Training, Family Medicine Rotations