APGO

Background: Resident duty hours and increased clinical volume have changed the landscape of modern resident education.  Due to these constraints the typical classroom model for teaching as well as teaching “on the fly” during the clinical duty hours is not sufficient to cover the depth and breadth of resident education.  Little has been studied using podcast learning in OBGYN education.

Methods: After IRB approval, residents were consented to participate in the study.  12 audio podcasts were created and distributed over 6 months in sets of 2 podcasts per month. Prior to their distribution we assessed the residents’ baseline knowledge and experience with podcast learning.  After distribution and use of the audio files we performed another evaluation examining the residents experience with the podcasts and their likelihood to use them in the future.  We offered an incentive for listening to the podcasts for the first half of the episodes but not for the second half.

Results: 24 residents consented to the study but no more than 13 residents listened to each session.  Satisfaction was high among participants and podcast learning was rated second only to self directed learning as a preferred method of education.  Residents cited a lack of time as the main reason they chose not to participate.

Discussions: Our residents were more likely to participate when an incentive was offered.  However, audio podcasts did rank highly as an effective learning tool among those who chose to participate.

Keywords: Ambulatory Education, Distance Learning, Instructional Materials/Methods, Technology, Other