Journal of Education in Perioperative Medicine

Volume III - Issue I

May-August 2001

More Abstracts:

A Curriculum for Resident Competence in Critical Reading Skills

Michael G. Richardson, MD

Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA

Introduction: The ability of physicians to analyze primary medical literature effectively and efficiently is considered an essential skill .^1,2 Furthermore, ensuring competency in critical reading skills is now a requirement of all residency education programs, including Anesthesiology .¹ This curriculum was developed and implemented to address these needs.

Methods: Course dates were Aug ’00 - May ’01. All anesthesiology residents and 2 course faculty participated. The stated Goal was "After completion of this course, residents will have a systematic, thorough, and efficient framework for analyzing and critiquing medical journal articles. They will have acquired critical reading skills that are essential for success as a lifelong learner. Objectives included "development of the ability to read any medical journal article using a systematic uniform framework, with the ability to a) describe the study question/intent of the investigators; b) characterize the study design and its appropriateness in answering the study question; c) discuss the strengths and weaknesses of alternative study designs; d) discuss the appropriateness of the study population, including inclusion and exclusion criteria; e) evaluate the appropriateness of the statistics used; f) evaluate the conclusions of the authors." The primary instructional method consisted of 30 min, small-group morning seminars every 2 weeks. Residents were given assignments 1 week- in advance, including required course text 3 readings, illustrative excerpts from the anesthesiology literature, and questions for discussion Faculty-facilitated group discussion during seminars was used exclusively. A pretest was administered in Aug ’00, and a posttest is scheduled for May ’01. Course evaluation will be obtained from all participants via written questionnaires and a final focus group discussion session in May 01.

Results: Course attendance was consistently high and participation active, by residents with little and with significant prior education in this area. Feedback was used to modify the course throughout the year. Final course evaluation, pre-/post data, and curriculum details will be presented.

Discussion: Our experience has been that not all physicians enter anesthesiology residency training with effective critical medical literature reading skills. The Curriculum for Resident Competence in Critical Reading Skills was designed to develop and improve these important skills. Including subspecialty-specific application (examples from anesthesiology literature) with critical reading skills theory³ promoted strong motivation for learning. This Curriculum addresses a specific competency that is valued by this program and that is now an anesthesiology residency program requirement .¹

References

.1. www.acgme.org (AOGME Outcomes Project; Program Requirements for Residency Education in Anesthesiology)

.2. AAMC Core Curriculum Working Group: Graduate Medical Education Core Curriculum AAMC, 2000.

.3. Riegelman RK: Studying a study, testing a test, 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincoti, 2000.