APGO

Emily R. Penick, MD Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA

Objective: To determine if the implementation of a case-based learning curriculum with an audience response feedback system (Turning Point ®) facilitates subspecialty learning of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in an OB/GYN residency program.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of case-based, audience response program for OB/GYN residents at Madigan Army Medical Center over the duration of academic years spanning 2008-2012. The residents’ performance in the subspecialty area of RE/I was compared on the national in-service examination for OB/GYN (CREOG) to the other CREOG specialty subject areas. The Wilcoxen Sign Rank Test was used to compare the change in raw percentage correct score for each postgraduate year level residents’ performance in each subject area. A p value of < 0.10 was determined to be a significant difference in mean test scores when compared to the scores from previous years in the same postgraduate level.

Results: Improvement in performance by Madigan residents on the CREOG exam was noted in the specialty of RE/I, demonstrated by an increase in the percentage number of items answered correctly throughout each year of residency. This was not the case for the remaining subject areas. In addition, a statistical difference (p ≤ 0.10) in each year was noted in mean scores as residents progressed from first through fourth years of residency.

Conclusion: A case-based teaching format with the use of an audience response system provides an efficient learning paradigm which has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy to assist residents in acquiring knowledge in specific subject areas.

Key Words: Cased-based, audience response