scholarly journals The use of free online educational resources by Canadian emergency medicine residents and program directors

CJEM ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eve Purdy ◽  
Brent Thoma ◽  
Joseph Bednarczyk ◽  
David Migneault ◽  
Jonathan Sherbino

AbstractIntroductionOnline educational resources (OERs) are increasingly available for emergency medicine (EM) education. This study describes and compares the use of free OERs by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) EM residents and program directors (PDs) and investigates the relationship between the use of OERs and peer-reviewed literature.MethodsA bilingual, online survey was distributed to RCPSC-EM residents and PDs using a modified Dillman method. The chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test were used to compare the responses of residents and PDs.ResultsThe survey was completed by 214/350 (61%) residents and 11/14 (79%) PDs. Free OERs were used by residents most frequently for general EM education (99.5%), procedural skills training (96%), and learning to interpret diagnostic tests (92%). OER modalities used most frequently included wikis (95%), file-sharing websites (95%), e-textbooks (94%), and podcasts (91%). Residents used wikis, podcasts, vodcasts, and file-sharing websites significantly more frequently than PDs. Relative to PDs, residents found entertainment value to be more important for choosing OERs (p<0.01). Some residents (23%) did not feel that literature references were important, whereas all PDs did. Both groups reported that OERs increased the amount of peer-reviewed literature (75% and 60%, respectively) that they read.ConclusionsEM residents make extensive use of OERs and differ from their PDs in the importance that they place on their entertainment value and incorporation of peer-reviewed references. OERs may increase the use of peer-reviewed literature in both groups. Given the prevalence of OER use for core educational goals among RCPSC-EM trainees, future efforts to facilitate critical appraisal and appropriate resource selection are warranted.

CJEM ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (S1) ◽  
pp. S20-S21 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nath ◽  
K. Yadav ◽  
J. J. Perry

Introduction: Enhanced skills training in emergency medicine (EM) for family physicians (CCFP(EM)) has existed since the 1970s. Accreditation standards define what every program must and should have, yet little is known on what is currently done across Canada. Our objectives were to: 1) describe major components of CCFP(EM) programs; and 2) determine how programs incorporate these components into their curriculum. Methods: A rigorous development process included expert content development and in-person pilot testing using Royal College Emergency Medicine Program Directors. An electronic survey questionnaire comprised of 63 questions was administered to all 17 CCFP(EM) program directors using a modified Dillman technique. Non-responders were sent a reminder email every 2 weeks over a 6-week period and an in-person reminder was given to non-responders at a face to face meeting 4 weeks after the initial survey was sent in June 2016. Results: All 17/17 (100%) program directors responded. There was considerable variation in administrative structure and financial support for each program. All programs provided ultrasound courses for basic skills (trauma, abdominal aortic aneurysm, intrauterine pregnancy). Variation exists for offering independent ultrasound certification (77%), advanced scanning (18%) and protected academic time for scanning (53%). All programs utilize high fidelity simulation. Some programs use in situ simulation (18%) and hold a simulation boot camp (41%). Most centres required an academic project, most commonly a quality assurance project (53%) and/or a critical appraisal of the literature (59%). Publication or national conference presentations were required by 12% of programs. Competency based assessments use simulation (88%) and direct observations (53%). Only 24% of programs have a transition to practice curriculum. All programs maintain strong connections to family medicine. Conclusion: This study demonstrates diverse structures of CCFP(EM) programs across Canada. Programs are similar regarding the provision of ultrasound, simulation and protected teaching time. Variation exists in administrative structure and financial resources of each program, academic project requirements, and how programs perform competency based assessments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason J. Lewis ◽  
Anne V. Grossestreuer ◽  
Edward A. Ullman

Abstract Background The final months of the fourth-year of medical school are variable in educational and clinical experience, and the effect on clinical knowledge and preparedness for residency is unclear. Specialty-specific “bootcamps” are a growing trend in medical education aimed at increasing clinical knowledge, procedural skills, and confidence prior to the start of residency. Methods We developed a 4-week Emergency Medicine (EM) bootcamp offered during the final month of medical school. At the conclusion of the course, participants evaluated its impact. EM residency-matched participants and non-participants were asked to self-evaluate their clinical knowledge, procedural skills and confidence 1 month into the start of residency. Program directors were surveyed to assess participants and non-participants across the same domains. A Fisher’s exact test was performed to test whether responses between participants and non-participants were statistically different. Results From 2015 to 2018, 22 students participated in the bootcamp. The majority reported improved confidence, competence, and procedural skills upon completion of the course. Self-assessed confidence was significantly higher in EM-matched participants 1 month into residency compared to EM-matched non-participants (p = 0.009). Self-assessed clinical knowledge and procedural skill competency was higher in participants than non-participants but did not reach statistical significance. Program directors rated EM-matched participants higher in all domains but this difference was also not statistically significant. Conclusions Participation in an EM bootcamp increases self-confidence at the start of residency among EM-matched residents. EM bootcamps and other specialty-specific courses at the end of medical school may ease the transition from student to clinician and may improve clinical knowledge and procedural skills.


CJEM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
pp. S37
Author(s):  
A. Mungham ◽  
O. Anjum ◽  
A. Lo ◽  
H. Rosenberg

Introduction/Innovation Concept: Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAM) is an emerging movement enabling crowdsourced sharing of vast amounts of medical knowledge on the web, especially in the dynamic field of emergency medicine (EM). However, the wide range of FOAM producers and the lack of organization in published FOAM content results in a challenge for learners to find quality resources that meet their educational needs. ILearnEM addresses this by curating content from popular FOAM sites to provide both new and seasoned learners with an organized, topic-structured EM curriculum. Methods: The resources on ILearnEM.com are drawn from the top 50 scoring websites on the Social Media Index (SMI), an indirect measure of quality and impact for online educational resources. The quality of each individual resource is reviewed by our curators using published Quality Checklists developed specifically for FOAM. Links to the original resources are systematically organized into core EM topics and separated into “Approach to” and “Beyond the Basics” categories. Curriculum, Tool, or Material: Since its launch in February 2016, ILearnEM.com has been distributed to the University of Ottawa medical students and residents, the Canadian CCFP-EM program directors, and through social media. Content on the website is updated every two weeks by our curators through an analysis of recent online publications from each of the top 50 SMI sites. The new resources are selected based on the level of quality and the relevance to the fundamentals of EM. Content updates are announced on social media (Twitter) to further engage learners by identifying the availability of new material. Conclusion: Based on a 10-month traffic analysis, 4234 unique visitors visited ILearnEM.com with an average of 1.9 visits/person and 10.4 pages/visit. Of those responding to an online survey (n=138, response rate=3.3%) visitors were 42.8% (n=59) residents, 29.0% medical students (n=40), 19.6% practicing physicians (n=27), and 8.7% other healthcare professionals (n=12). As one of few sites with an objective for a learner-oriented approach to curating content, ILearnEM will continue to be updated regularly based on user feedback to benefit the fast growing consumer base of medical student and resident learners.


CJEM ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (04) ◽  
pp. 241-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Petrosoniak ◽  
Jodi Herold ◽  
Karen Woolfrey

ABSTRACTObjective:This study sought to establish the current state of procedural skills training in Canadian Royal College emergency medicine (EM) residencies.Methods:A national Web-based survey was administered to residents and program directors of all 13 Canadian-accredited Royal College EM residency programs. Programdirectors rated the importance and experience required for competence of 45 EM procedural skills. EM residents reported their experience and comfort in performing the same procedural skills.Results:Thirteen program directors and 86 residents responded to the survey (response rate of 100% and 37%, respectively). Thirty-two (70%) procedures were considered important by &gt; 70% of program directors, including all resuscitation and lifesaving airway procedures. Four procedures deemed important by program directors, including cricothyroidotomy, pericardiocentesis, posterior nasal pack for epistaxis, and paraphimosis reduction, had never been performed by the majority of senior residents. Program director opinion was used to categorize each procedure based on performance frequency to achieve competence. Overall, procedural experience correlated positively with comfort levels as indicated by residents.Conclusions:We established an updated needs assessment of procedural skills training for Canadian Royal College EM residency programs. This included program director opinion of important procedures and the performance frequency needed to achieve competence. However, we identified several important procedures that were never performed by most senior residents despite program director opinion regarding the experience needed for competence. Further study is required to better define objective measures for resident competence in procedural skills.


CJEM ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy R. Dalseg ◽  
Lisa A. Calder ◽  
Curtis Lee ◽  
Jaymie Walker ◽  
Jason R. Frank

AbstractObjectivesOutcome feedback is the process of learning patient outcomes after their care within the emergency department. We conducted a national survey of Canadian Royal College emergency medicine (EM) residents and program directors to determine the extent to which active outcome feedback and follow-up occurred. We also compared the perceived educational value of outcome feedback between residents and program directors.MethodsWe distributed surveys to all Royal College-accredited adult and pediatric EM training programs using a modified Dillman method. We analyzed the data using student’s t-test for continuous variables and Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables.ResultsWe received 210 completed surveys from 260 eligible residents (80.8%) and 21 of 24 program directors (87.5%) (overall 81.3%). Mandatory active outcome feedback was not present in any EM training program for admitted or discharged patients (0/21). Follow-up was performed electively by 89.4% of residents for patients admitted to the hospital, and by 44.2% of residents for patients discharged home. A majority of residents (76.9%) believed that patient follow-up should be mandatory compared to 42.9% of program directors (p=0.002). The perceived educational value of outcome feedback was 5.8/7 for residents and 5.1/7 for program directors (difference 0.7; p=0.002) based on a seven-point Likert scale (1=not important; 7=very important).ConclusionWhile Canadian EM training programs do not mandate follow-up, it is performed electively by the majority of residents surveyed. Residents place a significantly greater educational value on outcome feedback than their program directors, and believe that follow-up should be a mandatory component of EM residencies.


CJEM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
pp. S34 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.A. Sutherland ◽  
C. Pham ◽  
C. La Riviere ◽  
E. Weldon

Introduction: Research supports the role of mentors in the personal development and career advancement of medical trainees. Compared to non-mentored peers, mentored residents are nearly twice as likely to describe excellent career preparation and demonstrate objective career success. In prior research, only 65% of training programs in Canada had a mentorship program, and 40% indicated a need for more formal mentorship models. Methods: A needs assessment survey was distributed to RCPSC Emergency Medicine (EM) Program Directors across Canada regarding mentorship available to resident physicians training at their centers. Additionally, all EM resident and staff physicians involved in mentorship were surveyed on their perceptions of current models at their institutions. Both surveys were comprised of binary, open ended, and 5 point likert scale questions. Responses were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test. Results: Eleven Program Directors responded to the survey. Formal mentorship programs were found in 82% of training centers, with 77% of programs instituted within the past 5 years. Half of resident/mentor pairings were based on a combination of identified career goals, participant personality traits, or resident request. Other pairing methods included perceived resident needs or attending physician request. Most meetings are face-to-face, with one program requiring mutual scheduled shifts. Residents identified that mentorship was significantly associated with benefits to career (p=0.0016) and niche (p=0.0019) development. Formal mentorship was felt to have a significant association with resident academic development (p=0.05) and lower rates of burnout (p=0.0018) by staff physicians. Staff mentors also associated a personal development benefit related to involvement in a mentorship relationship (p=0.0355). Conclusion: The majority of EM programs have adopted formal mentorship programs within the past 5 years. Residents and staff identify that mentorship relationships are associated with improved career and niche development as well as academic advancement. Future research will include a before and after study of the implementation of a formal mentorship program within the RCPSC-EM program at the University of Manitoba.


CJEM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Lo ◽  
Eric Shappell ◽  
Hans Rosenberg ◽  
Brent Thoma ◽  
James Ahn ◽  
...  

AbstractDespite the rapid expansion of online educational resources for emergency medicine, barriers remain to their effective use by emergency physicians and trainees. This article expands on previous descriptions of techniques to aggregate online educational resources, outlining four strategies to help learners navigate, evaluate, and contribute online. These strategies include 1) cultivating digital mentors, 2) browsing the most popular free open access medical education (FOAM) websites, 3) using critical appraisal tools developed for FOAM, and 4) contributing new online content.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (01) ◽  
pp. e88-e94
Author(s):  
Alyssa M. Kretz ◽  
Jennifer E. deSante-Bertkau ◽  
Michael V. Boland ◽  
Xinxing Guo ◽  
Megan E. Collins

Abstract Background While ethics and professionalism are important components of graduate medical education, there is limited data about how ethics and professionalism curricula are taught or assessed in ophthalmology residency programs. Objective This study aimed to determine how U.S. ophthalmology residency programs teach and assess ethics and professionalism and explore trainee preparedness in these areas. Methods Directors from accredited U.S. ophthalmology residency programs completed an online survey about components of programs' ethics and professionalism teaching curricula, strategies for assessing competence, and trainee preparedness in these areas. Results Directors from 55 of 116 programs (46%) responded. The most common ethics and professionalism topics taught were informed consent (38/49, 78%) and risk management and litigation (38/49, 78%), respectively; most programs assessed trainee competence via 360-degree global evaluation (36/48, 75%). While most (46/48, 95%) respondents reported that their trainees were well or very well prepared at the time of graduation, 15 of 48 (31%) had prohibited a trainee from graduating or required remediation prior to graduation due to unethical or unprofessional conduct. Nearly every program (37/48, 98%) thought that it was very important to dedicate curricular time to teaching ethics and professionalism. Overall, 16 of 48 respondents (33%) felt that the time spent teaching these topics was too little. Conclusion Ophthalmology residency program directors recognized the importance of an ethics and professionalism curriculum. However, there was marked variation in teaching and assessment methods. Additional work is necessary to identify optimal strategies for teaching and assessing competence in these areas. In addition, a substantial number of trainees were prohibited from graduating or required remediation due to ethics and professionalism issues, suggesting an impact of unethical and unprofessional behavior on resident attrition.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Krasko ◽  
J Marianowska ◽  
M Duplaga

Abstract Background According to recent projections, even 10% of Polish gross domestic product is contributed by Ukrainian immigrants. There is also a considerable number of Ukrainians continuing university education in Poland. The level of health literacy in Ukrainian society has not been studied so far. The aim of the study was the comparison of health literacy (HL) and e-health literacy (eHL) of young adult Ukrainian (UA) women with their Polish (PL) counterparts Methods A snowball technique was used to recruit a sample of UA women working or studying in Poland to the Internet-based survey. The questionnaire used in the study consisted of the 16-item European HL Survey questionnaire (HLS-EU-16), eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS), the set of the questions asking about health behaviours (HB), self-assessment of health status (HS) and items exploring sociodemographic variables. For comparison, the data of an age-matched sample of 100 respondents was extracted from the online survey performed in a representative sample of PL women. Results The mean age (standard deviation, SD) of 57 UA respondents was 20.23 (1.78) years and in Polish sample 20.25 (1.79). HL did not differ between both groups (11.06 (4.22) vs 11.44 (4.34), respectively, p = 0.53), but eHL was significantly lower in UA group (25.91 (5.36) vs 28.17 (5.37), U Mann-Whitney test, p = 0.01). Only 58.5% of UA respondents vs 80.5% of PL ones assessed their HS as at least good (Fisher exact test, p &lt; 0.001). The rates of active smoking (34.6% vs. 35.0%, p = 0.55), using e-cigarettes (35.3% vs 34.0%, p = 0.99), frequent alcohol consumption (26.9% vs. 20%, p = 0.41), and intensive physical activity (49.0% vs. 38.0%, p = 0.22) did not differ between study groups. Conclusions Young UA women show lower eHL than PL counterparts. Although HL and HB in both groups did not differ significantly, UA respondents have assessed their HS much lower than PL participants. Key messages E-health literacy and self-assessed health status were significantly lower among young Ukrainian than among Polish women. Both groups did not differ for health literacy and health behaviours.


CJEM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
pp. S76-S76
Author(s):  
R. Schonnop ◽  
B. Stauffer ◽  
A. Gauri ◽  
D. Ha

Introduction: Procedural skills are a key component of an emergency physician's practice. The Edmonton Zone is a health region that comprises twelve tertiary, urban community and rural community emergency departments (EDs) and represents over three hundred emergency physicians. This study describes the current attitudes toward procedural skill competency, current procedural skill practices, and the role for educational skills training sessions among emergency medicine physicians within a geographical health region. Methods: Multicenter descriptive cross-sectional survey of all emergency medicine physicians working at 12 emergency departments within the Edmonton Zone in 2019 (n = 274). The survey underwent several phases of systematic review; including item generation and reduction, pilot testing, and clinical sensibility testing. Survey items addressed current procedural skill performance frequency, perceived importance and confidence, current methods to maintain competence, barriers and facilitating factors to participation in a curriculum, preferred teaching methods, and desired frequency of practice for each procedural skill. Results: Survey response rate was 53.6%. Variability in frequency of performed procedures was apparent across the type of hospital sites. For majority of skills, there was a significantly positive correlation between the frequency at which a skill was performed and the perceived confidence performing said skill. There was inconsistency and no significant correlation with perceived importance, perceived confidence, or frequency performing a given skill and the desired frequency of training for that skill. Course availability (76.2%) and time (72.8%) are the most common identified barriers to participation in procedural skills training. Conclusion: This study summarized the current emergency department procedural skill practices and attitudes toward procedural skill competency and an educational curriculum among emergency medicine physicians in Edmonton. This represents a step towards targeted continuing professional development in the growing realm of competency-based medical education.


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