An updated focus on internal medicine resident education

Implementation of an Audience Response System in a Case Conference Curriculum: Results of a Placebo-Controlled Trial

Audience response systems engage learners and facilitate the assimilation of the material. We assessed whether incorporation of one system into a resident case conference would increase retention of information and attentiveness. Pre-tests were administered prior to case conferences. The University Hospital incorporated Poll Everywhere into a conference and the Veterans Administration hospital did not. Participants rated self-perceived attentiveness and completed a post-test following conference. There was an increase in post-test scores compared to pre-tests. There was no significant difference in self-perceived attentiveness or post-test scores between sites. The use of audience response did not increase retention of material or perceived attentiveness when incorporated into the conference.

Feasibility of a Comprehensive Medical Knowledge Curriculum in Internal Medicine Using Team-Based Learning

BACKGROUND

Team-based learning (TBL) is an active learning strategy with descriptions of its use in resident education limited to pilot studies.

OBJECTIVE

We developed a comprehensive medical knowledge TBL curriculum for an internal medicine residency, and assessed feasibility.

METHODS

We developed a 135-topic TBL curriculum to replace a noon conference lecture series, and implemented it over a 3-year period (2013-2016). In this article we describe the planning, curricular design, faculty recruitment and development, and lesson structure. We assessed feasibility in terms of faculty participation, resident preparedness, resident and faculty satisfaction, and costs.

RESULTS

Most faculty initially were unfamiliar with TBL. Through faculty resource materials and flexible faculty development, participating faculty increased from 3 to 74. In a 2015 faculty survey (N = 64, 69% response rate), 73% (32 of 44) reported faculty development was adequate, 70% (31 of 44) indicated lesson preparation time reasonable, and 95% (42 of 44) reported preparation materials were helpful. A 2016 resident survey (N = 89, 72% response rate) revealed that most residents completed reading assignments in advance, 78% (50 of 64) found readings manageable, and 77% (49 of 64) felt they learned better from TBL compared to lectures. Costs included compensated time for 1 faculty TBL "champion" and an assistant.

CONCLUSIONS

Implementing a comprehensive medical knowledge curriculum using TBL in an internal medicine residency was feasible, and resulted in high faculty acceptance and learner satisfaction. Departmental support of a TBL champion, flexible faculty development, and well-designed resource materials were determinants of success.

Chief's seminar: turning interns into clinicians

Background: Recent changes in healthcare delivery have necessitated residency education reform. To adapt to these changes, graduate medical education can adopt a chief resident-led clinical curriculum. Chief residents are ideal clinical instructors, as they are recent graduates who have excelled in their residency programs. To effectively use the limited time available for education, chief residents can implement active learning techniques. We present a chief resident-led, small-group, problem-based curriculum for teaching first-year internal medicine residents, and provide preliminary data supporting the efficacy of this approach.

Methods: The seminar consisted of 11 4-week modules. Week 1 was a team-based crossword competition. Weeks 2-4 were small-group, problem-based clinical reasoning sessions taught by chief residents. The program was evaluated via pre- and post-module multiple-choice tests. Resident satisfaction data were collected via self-reported, anonymous surveys.

Results: Preliminary results revealed a statistically significant increase from pre-test to post-test score for 9 of the 11 modules. The chest pain, fever, abdominal pain, shock, syncope, jaundice, dizziness, anemia, and acute kidney injury modules achieved statistical significance. Additionally, resident satisfaction surveys show that this teaching approach was an enjoyable experience for our residents.

Discussion: Our chief seminar is an evidence-based, clinical reasoning approach for graduate medical education that uses active learning techniques. This is an effective and enjoyable method for educating internal medicine residents. Because of its reproducibility, it can be applied throughout residency education.