Dataset Information

Adapting web-based instruction to residents' knowledge improves learning efficiency: a randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT: Increased clinical demands and decreased available time accentuate the need for efficient learning in postgraduate medical training. Adapting Web-based learning (WBL) to learners' prior knowledge may improve efficiency.We hypothesized that time spent learning would be shorter and test scores not adversely affected for residents who used a WBL intervention that adapted to prior knowledge.Randomized, crossover trial.Academic internal medicine residency program continuity clinic.122 internal medicine residents.Four WBL modules on ambulatory medicine were developed in standard and adaptive formats. The adaptive format allowed learners who correctly answered case-based questions to skip the corresponding content.The measurements were knowledge posttest, time spent on modules, and format preference. One hundred twenty-two residents completed at least 1 module, and 111 completed all 4. Knowledge scores were similar between the adaptive format (mean +/- standard error of the mean, 76.2 +/- 0.9) and standard (77.2 +/- 0.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] for difference -3.0 to 1.0, P = .34). However, time spent was lower for the adaptive format (29.3 minutes [CI 26.0 to 33.0] per module) than for the standard (35.6 [31.6 to 40.3]), an 18% decrease in time (CI 9 to 26%, P = .0003). Seventy-two of 96 respondents (75%) preferred the adaptive format.Adapting WBL to learners' prior knowledge can reduce learning time without adversely affecting knowledge scores, suggesting greater learning efficiency. In an era where reduced duty hours and growing clinical demands on trainees and faculty limit the time available for learning, such efficiencies will be increasingly important. For clinical trial registration, see http://www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT00466453 ( http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00466453?order=1 ).

SUBMITTER: Cook DA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2517946 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Adapting web-based instruction to residents' knowledge improves learning efficiency: a randomized controlled trial.

Cook David A DA Beckman Thomas J TJ Thomas Kris G KG Thompson Warren G WG

Journal of general internal medicine 20080701 7

<h4>Background</h4>Increased clinical demands and decreased available time accentuate the need for efficient learning in postgraduate medical training. Adapting Web-based learning (WBL) to learners' prior knowledge may improve efficiency.<h4>Objective</h4>We hypothesized that time spent learning would be shorter and test scores not adversely affected for residents who used a WBL intervention that adapted to prior knowledge.<h4>Design</h4>Randomized, crossover trial.<h4>Setting</h4>Academic inter ...[more]

PMID: 18612729

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundFinding work is a top priority for most people; however, this goal remains out of reach for the majority of individuals with a severe mental illness (SMI) who remain on benefits or are unemployed. Supported employment (SE) programs aimed at returning people with a severe mental illness to work are successful; however, they still leave a significant number of people with severe mental illness unemployed. Cognitive deficits are commonly found in SMI and are a powerful predictor of poor outcome. Fortunately, these deficits are amenable to treatment with cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) that significantly improves cognition in SMI. CRT combined with SE significantly increases the likelihood of individuals with severe mental illness obtaining and staying in work. However, the availability of CRT is limited in many settings.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine whether Web-based CRT combined with a SE program can improve the rate return to work of people with severe mental illness.MethodsA total of 86 people with severe mental illness (mean age 39.6 years; male: n=55) who were unemployed and who had joined a SE program were randomized to either a Web-based CRT program (CogRem) or an Internet-based control condition (WebInfo). Primary outcome measured was hours worked over 6 months post treatment.ResultsAt 6 months, those participants randomized to CogRem had worked significantly more hours (P=.01) and had earned significantly more money (P=.03) than those participants randomized to the WebInfo control condition. No change was observed in cognition.ConclusionsThis study corroborates other work that has found a synergistic effect of combining CRT with a SE program and extends this to the use of Web-based CRT. The lack of any improvement in cognition obscures the mechanism by which an improved wage outcome for participants randomized to the active treatment was achieved. However, the study substantially lowers the barrier to the deployment of CRT with other psychosocial interventions for severe mental illness.Trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) 12611000849998; http://www.anzctr.org.au/TrialSearch.aspx?searchTxt=12611000849998&isBasic=True (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6sMKwpeos).

Project description:Burnout is highly prevalent in residents. No randomized controlled trials have been conducted measuring the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on burnout in residents.To determine the effectiveness of MBSR in reducing burnout in residents.A randomized controlled trial comparing MBSR with a waitlist control group.Residents from all medical, surgical and primary care disciplines were eligible to participate. Participants were self-referred.The MBSR consisted of eight weekly 2.5-h sessions and one 6-h silent day.The primary outcome was the emotional exhaustion subscale of the Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey. Secondary outcomes included the depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment subscales of burnout, worry, work-home interference, mindfulness skills, self-compassion, positive mental health, empathy and medical errors. Assessment took place at baseline and post-intervention approximately 3 months later.Of the 148 residents participating, 138 (93%) completed the post-intervention assessment. No significant difference in emotional exhaustion was found between the two groups. However, the MBSR group reported significantly greater improvements than the control group in personal accomplishment (p?=?0.028, d?=?0.24), worry (p?=?0.036, d?=?0.23), mindfulness skills (p?=?0.010, d?=?0.33), self-compassion (p?=?0.010, d?=?0.35) and perspective-taking (empathy) (p?=?0.025, d?=?0.33). No effects were found for the other measures. Exploratory moderation analysis showed that the intervention outcome was moderated by baseline severity of emotional exhaustion; those with greater emotional exhaustion did seem to benefit.The results of our primary outcome analysis did not support the effectiveness of MBSR for reducing emotional exhaustion in residents. However, residents with high baseline levels of emotional exhaustion did appear to benefit from MBSR. Furthermore, they demonstrated modest improvements in personal accomplishment, worry, mindfulness skills, self-compassion and perspective-taking. More research is needed to confirm these results.

Project description:BackgroundPrevious research has strongly supported the utility of spaced learning in enhancing memory, but its effectiveness in complex surgical procedures has largely been unexplored. The main objective of this study was to evaluate whether, in comparison to concentrated learning, spaced learning improves the short-term acquisition and long-term retention of cosmetic suturing skills as outcomes of surgical resident training courses.MethodsThis randomized controlled trial was conducted from February 2023 to June 2023. Surgical residents were recruited from a teaching hospital in Guangzhou, China. The participants were randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to either the spaced training group (40 min of training followed by a 20-minute break) or the concentrated training group (3 h of continuous training), in which they received one-on-one training for cosmetic suturing skills. The short-term acquisition and long-term retention outcomes were evaluated by three independent raters using an objective scoring scale to assess the participants' cosmetic suturing skills before the training (pretraining test), within one hour after the training (posttraining test), and three months after the completion of the training (follow-up test). The score for each participant was calculated as the average of three independent scores.ResultsThe study included 23 surgical residents, 12 in the spaced training group and 11 in the concentrated training group. The pretraining test revealed no significant difference between the groups. However, in the post-training test, the spaced training group achieved a significantly higher total score than did the concentrated training group (74.06 ± 5.87 vs. 63.43 ± 10.73, p = 0.0070). Specifically, the suture technique scores were 28.46 ± 1.78 and 22.85 ± 3.75, respectively, which were significantly different (p = 0.0002). During the long-term follow-up test, the spaced training group consistently outperformed the concentrated training group by having significantly higher total (75.60 ± 4.78 vs. 60.68 ± 10.40, p = 0.0001), suture quality (32.26 ± 4.01 vs. 26.23 ± 4.16, p = 0.0019), suture technique (28.68 ± 2.63 vs. 22.18 ± 3.94, p = 0.0001), and suturing time scores (14.67 ± 1.15 vs. 12.27 ± 6.07, p = 0.0460).ConclusionsIncorporating the principles of spaced learning into the instructional process of obtaining cosmetic suture skills for surgical residents not only significantly enhances short-term skill improvement but also contributes to the long-term retention of training outcomes.

Dataset Information

Adapting web-based instruction to residents' knowledge improves learning efficiency: a randomized controlled trial.

Publications

Adapting web-based instruction to residents' knowledge improves learning efficiency: a randomized controlled trial.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets