Objective:  Prior to the start of the 2022-23 academic year, our residency program experienced educational and logistical challenges in implementing a comprehensive Internal Medicine-Pediatrics (Med-Peds) curriculum. We also lacked formal opportunities for residents to acquire and implement teaching skills.  Med-Peds residency training provides a unique perspective on concepts in both Internal Medicine (IM) and Pediatrics and the intersection between the two specialties. This project was designed to establish a formal, workplace-based Med-Peds curriculum while also providing direct, formal opportunities for residents to lead peer-to-peer didactic sessions.

Methods:  University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Med-Peds senior residents (n=5) led the development and presentation of didactic sessions at the UAMS Rahling Road Clinic during their ambulatory weeks in 2022-23. The residents collaborated with local content experts in each area to develop the didactic content.  Presentations were designed to be clinically relevant and to highlight important similarities and differences between IM and Pediatrics.  Curriculum topics to date include: EKGs, empiric antibiotics, wellness exams, obesity, and asthma.  Mid-year evaluation data are being collected using an anonymous, electronic survey of UAMS Med-Peds residents with survey items adapted from prior published tools^1,2 to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum.

Results:  Mid-year evaluation data include responses to two surveys.  One survey measures the learners’ perception of the lectures and gauges learner satisfaction with the curriculum. Learners rate the lecturer on their ability to communicate clearly, summarize key concepts, etc. and rate the lectures on relevance of the content, improving their understanding, etc. The second survey measures presenting residents’ self-evaluation, their comfort levels with teaching, and the benefits of leading peer-to-peer didactic sessions. The lecturers also evaluate the lecture content similarly to the learners. The mid-year survey results are currently being collected and analyzed.

Conclusions/Next steps:  Given the lack of prior published work from Med-Peds programs on this topic, we believe the study findings are relevant to other Med-Peds program directors and residents throughout the country who are also seeking to improve their resident didactics. Regardless of specialty, other residency programs would also benefit from the approach and results of this resident-led curriculum.

References

1. Caton JB, Penn EH, Nemer MK, Katz JT, Yialamas MA. Getting up to Speed: A Resident-Led Inpatient Curriculum for New Internal Medicine Interns. MedEdPORTAL. 2019 Dec 27;15:10866. doi: 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10866. PMID: 32051849; PMCID: PMC7012307.
2. Newman LR, Lown BA, Jones RN, Johansson A, Schwartzstein RM. Developing a peer assessment of lecturing instrument: Lessons learned.  Academic Medicine. 2009; 84(8): 1104-1110.