Pediatric Emergency Medicine Asynchronous E‐learning: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Solomon Four‐group Study. (24th August 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chang, Todd P.; Pham, Phung K.; Sobolewski, Brad; Doughty, Cara B.; Jamal, Nazreen; Kwan, Karen Y.; Little, Kim; Brenkert, Timothy E.; Mathison, David J.; Burton, John
• Is Part Of: Academic emergency medicine. Volume 21:Number 8(2014:Aug.)
• Page Start: 912
• Page End: 919
• Publication Date: 2014-08-24
• Subjects: Emergency medicine -- Periodicals; 616.02505
• DOI: 10.1111/acem.12434
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1069-6563

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="acem12434-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="acem12434-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Objectives</title> <p>Asynchronous e‐learning allows for targeted teaching, particularly advantageous when bedside and didactic education is insufficient. An asynchronous e‐learning curriculum has not been studied across multiple centers in the context of a clinical rotation. We hypothesize that an asynchronous e‐learning curriculum during the pediatric emergency medicine (EM) rotation improves medical knowledge among residents and students across multiple participating centers.</p> </sec> <sec id="acem12434-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>Trainees on pediatric EM rotations at four large pediatric centers from 2012 to 2013 were randomized in a Solomon four‐group design. The experimental arms received an asynchronous e‐learning curriculum consisting of nine Web‐based, interactive, peer‐reviewed Flash/HTML5 modules. Postrotation testing and in‐training examination (ITE) scores quantified improvements in knowledge. A 2 × 2 analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) tested interaction and main effects, and Pearson's correlation tested associations between module usage, scores, and ITE scores.</p> </sec> <sec id="acem12434-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>A total of 256 of 458 participants completed all study elements; 104 had access to asynchronous e‐learning modules, and 152 were controls who used the current education standards. No pretest sensitization was found (p = 0.75). Use of asynchronous e‐learning modules was associated with an improvement in posttest scores (p < 0.001), from a mean score of 18.45 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 17.92 to 18.98) to 21.30 (95% CI = 20.69 to 21.91), a large effect (partial η<sup>2</sup> = 0.19). Posttest scores correlated with ITE scores (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.14, p < 0.001) among pediatric residents.</p> </sec> <sec id="acem12434-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>Asynchronous e‐learning is an effective educational tool to improve knowledge in a clinical rotation. Web‐based asynchronous e‐learning is a promising modality to standardize education among multiple institutions with common curricula, particularly in clinical rotations where scheduling difficulties, seasonality, and variable experiences limit in‐hospital learning.</p> </sec> </abstract>