Primary care physicians’ knowledge and self-perception of competency in dermatology: An evaluation study from Yemen

Purpose: Dermatologists recognize the role of primary care clinics where 6–7% of visits are for skin complaints and are seen by primary care physicians (PCPs). Previous studies investigated PCPs’ competency in dermatology but few studies investigated PCPs’ knowledge and self-perception of competency in dermatology which is the main aim for the current study. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted and 40 PCPs were recruited from nine randomly selected clinics in Aden, Yemen during April–May 2014. Findings: The majority (47.5%) of PCPs perceived their competencies in diagnosing and treating skin diseases as average. There were no significant differences in classification scores of skin lesions among PCPs by self-perception competency group “Good, Average, Bad”. Half of the PCPs identified correctly that topical antifungal monotherapy is superior to topical antifungal/corticosteroid combinations for the treatment of fungal skin infections. Only 12.5% of PCPs correctly identified that glucocorticoids are not the first-line treatment for anaphylactic reactions. Proper knowledge in allergy and skin infections seems to be associated with higher ability to classify skin lesions (p < 0.05). Implications: self-perception of competency was not associated with higher ability to classify skin lesions. PCPs need continuing medical education to improve their knowledge in dermatology.