Electrocardiography Teaching in Canadian Family Medicine Residency Programs: A National Survey

OBJECTIVE: Electrocardiography (ECG) interpretation is an essential skill for a family physician. Teaching and learning electrocardiography is a difficult task, in part due to the erosion of knowledge when interpretation is not part of a daily activity. The objective of this study was to assess the current status of electrocardiography teaching in Canadian family medicine residency programs. METHODS: A national survey was designed to specifically address the status of the ECG teaching curricula. This national survey was electronically sent to the family medicine program directors of all 17 Canadian accredited medical schools. RESULTS: Approximately 75% of the schools responded to the survey. There vias a great variance among Canadian family medicine residency programs with respect to the time allotment, ECG training location, training faculty, and teaching methods utilized. The goals of each respective program are also quite wide-ranging. CONCLUSIONS: Family medicine residency programs across Canada are quite diverse regarding ECG training curricula and its goals. The need for a homogeneous way of teaching and evaluating has been identified.