Survey Results

Thanks to those of you who spent four minutes responding to the survey. In order to apply for CME I have to show that there is a need for education. One method to document the need is to conduct a survey. Because I only have a week to turn in the application, I quickly made a survey and mailed it out. The survey was not meant to be much. I figured if I could show a knowledge deficit on very basic items, I could justify a day-long conference.

Only 16 psychiatrists returned the survey, so we could not say that it is representative of the community. Nevertheless, for CME application purposes, I have a survey I can quote.

Only three psychiatrists got all questions correct, and two of those psychiatrists are retired.

Here are the correct answers and the correct answer response rate:

1. Naval Center for Combat and Operational Stress Control (NCCOSC) is located in which city?

San Diego, 56 percent.

2. Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) is located in which city?

Silver Spring, MD and Arlington, VA, although I also accepted Bethesda, their eventual home, 38 percent.

3. True or false, the mandate of NCCOSC includes traumatic brain injury?

True, 50 percent.

4. Name one program or initiative from NCCOSC or DCoE which has been relevant to your practice in the last year:

44 percent named a program or initiative. I did not accept "that funny multicolored chart" as a valid response.

5. True or false, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is one of four non-pharmacologic treatments endorsed by the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline as providing significant benefit to patients with PTSD?

True, 63 percent. The other therapies listed as providing significant benefit are Cognitive Therapy, Exposure Therapy and Stress Inoculation Training.

6. True or false, Seroquel (quetiapine) is considered safe and effective for insomnia associated with PTSD?

False, 44 percent. Some people seemed to be unaware that safe and effective is the criteria used for FDA approval. Because quetiapine is not approved for treatment of PTSD or insomnia, it cannot be considered safe and effective for insomnia related to PTSD. A full 56 percent of respondents either did not know the approved uses of this medication or thought it was approved for insomnia. Best wrong answer: "Yes, it is safe and effective for insomnia related to PTSD, but it is not approved for this."

So even with a small sample size, I think there are indications that more education is desirable. Despite CAPT Ed Simmer's lectures on DCoE over the past two years at the Braceland, a majority of respondents believe he is stationed in San Diego. Half do not know that the program CAPT Paul Hammer heads is located in San Diego. One respondent from San Diego does not know this.

Finally, all of these questions and their correct answers were covered during presentations at the Braceland Seminar in the last two years. The Braceland Seminar is the best place to go to learn what is going on in Navy Psychiatry. Please register today.