Common and Important Signs, Symptoms and Diseases that a General Practitioner Should Know: One Step Toward Socially Accountable Education

Introduction: Social accountability is a fundamental feature in medical education. In this regard, the aim of this study was to explore the views of general practitioners in Isfahan about GP’s minimum learning essentials based on common and important signs, symptoms and diseases to be used in the revised curriculum in accordance with social accountability. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in 2015-16 in two phases. The research tool was developed in the first phase by reviewing the literature, documents and experiences. In the second phase, the field study was conducted on general practitioners working in private and public sectors of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. A sample of 462 subjects were selected through systematic random cluster sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Results: A total of 619 questionnaires were analyzed. 46.7% of the participants were female and 37.5% worked as a family physician. Based on the interaction between subjects’ encounters with diseases, signs and symptoms and the importance of each case, 136 topics were identified as educational priority. Conclusion: Since high prevalence of a disease and its importance for education have been accepted as the criteria to determine learning needs, educational priorities for general practitioners were determined based on the interaction of these two criteria. Further research is recommended to determine the opportunities for teaching these priorities and their appropriate educational content.