Creation of novel pediatric academic curriculum and its evaluation using mixed methods

IntroductionThe Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the American Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education require resident skills in Evidence-Based Medicine and participation in research activities. Our first-year pediatric residents (PGY1s) were required to attend a novel, call-protected, 4-week Academic Skills and Knowledge (ASK) rotation to improve their skills as consumers of medical literature. Objectives of the study were to describe this curriculum and summarize its mixed-methods evaluation. MethodsAfter 14 months of curriculum development, three annual cohorts of PGY1s wrote identical pre- and post-ASK quizzes (2017-19). In 2018 and 2019, we assessed knowledge retention with PGY1s re-writing the quiz after 6 months. Mean test scores were compared using paired t-tests. In 2017, pre- and post-ASK focus groups assessed resident feelings about the rotation. ResultsAll eligible PGY1s (n=32) participated. Mean exam scores demonstrated increased knowledge (time0 mean{+/-}SD 52.6{+/-}11.0%; vs. time1 80.2{+/-}9.0%, p <0.001). Knowledge retention at 6 months was intermediate (time2 70.2{+/-}12.0%; time0 vs time2 p<0.001). In the pre-rotation focus group, residents looked forward to ASK; goals centered around growing from learner to expert. Post-ASK, residents were very satisfied. Resident participation in our annual Research Institute poster competition increased linearly from 0% in 2014 to 8% in 2020 (r=0.74, p=0.01). DiscussionThe ASK curriculum was successfully implemented, and increased knowledge persisted over time. Residents were satisfied with ASK and appreciated the structured curriculum building on core knowledge that they could immediately apply to their clinical work. Statements and DeclarationsAll authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Martha Balicki, Darja Barr, Atul Sharma and Celia Rodd. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Martha Balicki and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Financial interestsNone of the authors have any relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work. Data availabilityThe datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.