Two prospective educational interventions in a neurology residency: effect on RITE performance

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Neurology Training
• Assessment Methods

Background:

• Evaluating educational interventions for neurology residents.
• Comparing two distinct interventions: neuropharmacology and neuroanatomy.
• Utilizing a historical control group for comparative analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of two educational interventions on Residency In-service Training Examination (RITE) scores.
• To determine the effectiveness of neuropharmacology and neuroanatomy educational strategies.
• To identify optimal methods for improving resident performance in standardized examinations.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study of two resident cohorts undergoing different educational interventions.
• Intervention 1 (Neuropharmacology): Weekly presentations and individual quizzes.
• Intervention 2 (Neuroanatomy): Weekly presentations with team-based, oral quizzes.
• Outcome measures included percent correct and yearly change in RITE subset scores, analyzed using ANOVA.

Main Results:

• The neuropharmacology intervention showed no significant difference in RITE scores compared to the control group (P=0.96).
• The neuroanatomy intervention group demonstrated significantly higher RITE scores (P=0.02) and a greater yearly percent correct change (P=0.02) compared to the control.
• Team-based oral quizzing in neuroanatomy was associated with improved performance.

Conclusions:

• A team-oriented educational approach incorporating oral quizzing significantly enhances RITE performance in neuroanatomy.
• The structure of the educational intervention, particularly the collaborative and interactive nature of assessment, is crucial for improving resident scores.
• This study suggests that interactive, team-based learning strategies may be more effective for knowledge retention and examination performance in medical residency programs.