Implementing and evaluating an injury prevention curriculum within a pediatric residency program

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pediatrics
• Injury Prevention

Background:

• Pediatric residency programs often face challenges integrating injury prevention training.
• Effective curricula are needed to equip pediatric residents with crucial injury prevention knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if a 2-week injury prevention course improves knowledge acquisition and retention in pediatric residents.
• To compare the educational impact of an intensive course versus standard injury prevention education.

Main Methods:

• A mandatory 2-week injury prevention course was implemented for pediatric interns at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC).
• Knowledge was assessed using a 50-question test at multiple time points (intern orientation, end of PGY-1, end of PGY-3).
• A control group from comparable hospitals without the course was used for comparison, with data analyzed using t tests.

Main Results:

• The intervention group showed significantly greater improvement in test scores post-internship (14.1% vs. 3.2%, p < 0.001) and post-residency (11.9% vs. 5.5%, p = 0.02).
• No demographic differences existed between the intervention and control groups at baseline.
• A higher percentage of controls (63.6%) reported receiving some injury prevention training by residency completion, yet the intensive course yielded superior knowledge gains.

Conclusions:

• A dedicated injury prevention curriculum for pediatric residents demonstrably enhances their knowledge base.
• This intensive training approach leads to significant and sustained improvements in understanding critical injury prevention topics.
• The findings support the integration of structured injury prevention education into pediatric residency programs.