Background/Purpose: “A Resident’s Guide to Pediatric Rheumatology” was specifically designed to address a gap in pediatric rheumatology teaching resources. It was intended for medical students and residents who participate in pediatric rheumatology rotations as part of their training program. The aims of this study were to determine whether the Guide was reaching its target population and to evaluate its perceived utility, frequency of use, and user satisfaction.
Methods: The Guide was developed by rheumatology staff and fellows at The Hospital for Sick Children in 2011 and provides a summary of common pediatric rheumatology topics. It was distributed electronically at no cost to interested training programs. All individuals who requested a copy of the Guide were contacted via email to solicit their participation in an online survey. The survey collected information on: (1) participant demographics; (2) frequency and methods in which the Guide was used; (3) ratings of user satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale (level 1 outcome of Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model); and (4) identification of perceived positive and negative features of the Guide.
Results: An invitation was sent to 261 recipients of the Guide and 81 (31% response rate) completed the survey. Participants included 45 staff pediatric rheumatologists, 18 residents, 7 pediatricians, 5 pediatric rheumatology fellows, 3 adult rheumatology fellows, 2 occupational therapists, and 1 nurse practitioner. The Guide was used for teaching by 63% of participants and for learning by 48%. As expected, no staff physicians used the Guide as a learning tool; however, fellows and residents reported using the Guide to study as well as to teach. Most teachers (90%) provide the Guide to trainees to read independently during rotations, while a smaller group use the Guide to stimulate discussion (37%) or as part of case-based teaching (35%). Frequency of use was described as weekly (20%), monthly (30%), or every few months (30%). Overall, participants were satisfied with the Guide as a teaching resource (69% very satisfied, 20% somewhat satisfied) and learning resource (65% very satisfied, 22% somewhat satisfied). The most commonly cited positive features were its’ free availability, and balance between comprehensive and concise information.
Conclusion: The Guide appears to fill an identified gap in pediatric rheumatology resources for non-rheumatology trainees. Uptake of the Guide as a learning tool was broader than the intended audience since fellows report using it for teaching and learning. Further study is required to determine if the Guide increased knowledge in non-rheumatology trainees (Kirkpatrick level 2 outcome) and changed teaching behaviours by pediatric rheumatology teachers (Kirkpatrick level 3 outcome).
Disclosure:
T. Cellucci,
None;
R. Laxer,
None.
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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/evaluation-of-a-new-educational-tool-a-residents-guide-to-pediatric-rheumatology/