Does an endocrinology subspecialty residency rotation enhance resident endocrine clinical knowledge?

The impact of fellowship-trained medical toxicology faculty on emergency medicine resident in-training examination scores

BACKGROUND

The American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) In Training Exam (ITE) gauges residents' medical knowledge and has been shown to correlate with subsequent performance on the ABEM board qualifying examination. It is common for emergency medicine (EM) residencies to employ subspecialty-trained faculty members with the expectation of improved resident education and subspecialty knowledge. We hypothesized that the presence of subspecialty faculty in toxicology would increase residents' scores on the toxicology portion of the ITE.

METHODS

We assessed ABEM ITE scores at our institution from 2013-2022 and compared these to national data. The exposure of interest was the absence or presence of fellowship-trained toxicology faculty. The primary outcome was performance on the toxicology portion of the ITE, and secondary outcome was overall performance on the exam.

RESULTS

Residents who had ≥1 toxicology faculty were 37% (95% CI: 1.01-1.87) more likely to surpass the national average for toxicology scores, and those who had ≥2 toxicology faculty were 77% (95% CI: 1.28-2.44) more likely to surpass the national average for toxicology scores on the ABEM ITE. With the presence of ≥2 toxicology faculty, there was also an increase in toxicology score by years in training, with residents being 63% (95% CI: 1.01-2.64), 68% (95% CI: 1.08-2.61), and 92% (95% CI: 1.01-3.63) more likely to surpass the national average for toxicology score in first, second, and third years of residency, respectively. There was no significant relationship between the presence of toxicology faculty and the overall ABEM ITE scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of fellowship-trained toxicology faculty positively impacted residents' performance on the toxicology portion of the ABEM ITE but did not significantly impact the overall score. With the presence of ≥2 toxicology faculty we noted an improvement in toxicology scores throughout the 3 years of training, indicating that an individual rotation or educational block is probably less important than spaced repetition through a longitudinal curriculum.

Online Infectious Diseases Subspecialty Supplementary Curriculum for Medical Students and Residents: Moving Beyond "You Get What You Get"

OBJECTIVES

Students and residents rotating through infectious diseases (ID) electives are instructed primarily by participation in rounds and clinics, with teaching focused on diseases encountered. This "you get what you get" approach allows learners to apply knowledge directly to patient care, however, may miss topics encountered in standardized testing. This multisite study investigates the use of asynchronous web-based learning modules and its impact on student and resident knowledge.

METHODS

Students and residents rotating through an ID elective were assigned to their standard elective (old) or asked to complete asynchronous web-based learning modules in addition to the standard curriculum (new). Learners submitted pre- and post-tests and scores were tabulated. In the following academic year, learners at the host site were provided the learning modules and a post-elective survey.

RESULTS

Nine learners (100%) completed the pre-test and 5 (55.6%) completed the post-test in the standard (old) curriculum group, while 15 (100%) completed the pre-test and post-test in the new curriculum group. The mean percentage change in accuracy was 9% and 5.3% in the old and new curricula, respectively. Most (94%) survey respondents recommended continued use of the curriculum and expansion to other subspecialty electives.

CONCLUSIONS

Subspecialty electives have multiple purposes including assisting learners in exploring careers, providing a well-rounded medical experience, or preparing learners for content in standardized tests. Consistent curricula are not always provided with electives to supplement the clinical experience. Our web curriculum was well-received with perceived knowledge gain, though with very small pre-post-test groups a score improvement could not be determined. An asynchronous online curriculum for learners in ID was feasible and well-received among faculty, and learners felt their knowledge was enhanced. Content areas supplemented those encountered during the ID elective. While an improvement in post-test scores was not demonstrated, learners and faculty felt modules were beneficial.