Re: “A National Evaluation of the Scholarly Activity Requirement in Residency Programs: A Survey of Emergency Medicine Program Directors”

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 > 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.

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LO60: Health research methodology education in Canadian emergency medicine residency programs: a national survey of curriculum assessment

CJEM ◽

10.1017/cem.2019.103 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (S1) ◽

pp. S29

Author(s):

A. Wang ◽

K. Van Aarsen ◽

A. Meiwald ◽

J. Yan

Keyword(s):

Emergency Medicine ◽

Research Methodology ◽

Clinical Skills ◽

Program Directors ◽

Web Based ◽

Residency Programs ◽

Curriculum Assessment ◽

Electronic Survey ◽

Ethics Teaching ◽

Competency Based

Introduction: With a shift towards competency-based medical education, it is crucial to not only emphasize learner abilities such as clinical skills but also leadership in the conduct of research. Though the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada's (RCPSC) training objectives for Emergency Medicine (EM) residents state that the specialist physician be able to describe the principles of research, the research methodology curriculum across EM training programs in Canada is likely variable. The primary goal of this study was to describe the variability of research methodology teaching among RCPSC-EM residency programs. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to English-speaking RCPSC-EM program directors (PDs) and EM residents. The survey investigated residents' and PDs’ thoughts on the adequacy of their local curriculum and asked them to quantify their research methodology teaching. The primary outcome was the frequency and content of current research methodology and research ethics teaching as well as a description of scholarly project requirements of EM residency programs across Canada. The data was presented with simple descriptive statistics. Results: 79 EM residents and 7 PDs responded (response rate 22.3% and 58.3%, respectively). All 7 PDs indicate having a research methodology curriculum while 71.6% of residents are aware of this curriculum. Only 57.1% of PDs report having formal assessments. Most programs (71.4%) teach via small groups while 28.6% of programs use large group sessions. Residents identify teaching as led by research staff (68.9%), staff physicians (60%), and EM researchers (57.8%), while only 17.8% use outside educators. Students noted various modalities of curriculum feedback such as online surveys, weekly forms, and verbal feedback. Regarding the strength of the curricula, 85.7% of PDs believed their curriculum prepares residents for board exams, while only 62.2% of residents felt similarly. When asked about using a standard web-based curriculum module if available, 60.5% of residents responded in favour. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that EM residency programs across Canada vary with respect to research methodology curriculum and discrepancies exist between residents’ and program directors’ perceptions of the curriculum. Given the lack of a standardized research methodology curriculum for these residency programs, there is an opportunity for curriculum development to improve training in research methodology.

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Post-interview Thank-you Communications Influence Both Applicant and Residency Program Rank Lists in Emergency Medicine

Western Journal of Emergency Medicine ◽

10.5811/westjem.2019.10.44031 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 96-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Corlin Jewell ◽

Tillman David ◽

Aaron Kraut ◽

Jamie Hess ◽

Mary Westergaard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Medicine ◽

Residency Program ◽

Program Directors ◽

Residency Programs ◽

Rank List

Introduction: The National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) allows post-interview contact between residency applicants and residency programs. Thank-you communications represent one of the most common forms, but data on their value to applicants and program directors (PD) are limited. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of thank-you communications on applicant- and residency-program rank lists. Methods: Two anonymous, voluntary surveys were sent after the 2018 NRMP Match, one to applicants who were offered an interview at a single academic site in the 2017-2018 Match cycle, and one to EM PDs nationwide. The surveys were designed in conjunction with a nationally-recognized survey center and piloted and revised based on feedback from residents and faculty. Results: Of 196 residency applicants, 97 (49.5%) responded to the survey. Of these, 73/95 (76.8%) reported sending thank-you communications. Twenty-two of 73 (30%) stated that they sent thank-you communications to improve their spot on a program’s rank list; and 16 of 73 (21.9%) reported that they changed their rank list based upon the responses they received to their thank-you communications. Of 163 PDs, 99 (60.7%) responded to the survey. Of those PDs surveyed, 22.6% reported that an applicant could be moved up their program’s rank list and 10.8% reported that an applicant could move down a program’s rank list based on their thank-you communications (or lack thereof). Conclusion: The majority of applicants to EM are sending thank-you communications. A significant minority of applicants and PDs changed their rank list due to post-interview thank-you communications.

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Response to “Creating Consensus: Revisiting the Emergency Medicine Scholarly Activity Requirement”

Western Journal of Emergency Medicine ◽

10.5811/westjem.2019.1.42332 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 376-379

Author(s):

Scott Pasichow ◽

Zachary Jarou ◽

Dhimitri Nikolla ◽

Mohammed Qureshi ◽

Michael Epter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Medicine ◽

Scholarly Activity ◽

Activity Requirement

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Health research methodology education in Canadian emergency medicine residency programs: A national environmental scan

Canadian Medical Education Journal ◽

10.36834/cmej.68753 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Aaron Wang ◽

Allison Meiwald ◽

Robert Harper ◽

Kristine Van Aarsen ◽

Justin Yan

Keyword(s):

Emergency Medicine ◽

Royal College ◽

Research Methodology ◽

Program Directors ◽

Residency Programs ◽

Electronic Survey ◽

English Speaking ◽

Barriers To Teaching ◽

Quantitative Descriptive ◽

National Environmental

Objectives: Our objective was to describe the variability of research methodology teaching among English-speaking Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada emergency medicine (RCPSC-EM) residency programs. We also aimed to identify barriers to teaching research methodology curricula. Methods: An electronic survey was sent by email to program directors and residents of English-speaking RCPSC-EM training programs countrywide. Reminder emails were sent after 2, 4, and 8 weeks. Quantitative, descriptive statistics were prepared, and qualitative data and themes were identified. Results: We received a total of 7 responses from the possible 12 program directors (response rate = 58.3%). Out of 354 potential resident respondents, 82 (23.2%) completed the survey. There was disparity between resident and program director responses with respect to the existence of curricula, preparation for Royal College exams, and usefulness for future practice. Barriers to teaching a research methodologies curriculum included lack of time, support, educated faculty, and finances. Conclusion: This survey demonstrates that Canadian EM residency programs vary with respect to research methodology curriculum, and discrepancies exist between residents’ and program directors’ perceptions of the curriculum. Given the lack of a standardized research methodology curriculum for these programs, there is an opportunity to improve training in research methodology.

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