Resident and Faculty Perceptions of Chart-Stimulated Recall

Chart-stimulated recall (CSR) is a case-based interviewing technique advocated by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education as an assessment tool across a variety of clinical competencies, yet resident and faculty perceptions of this exercise have not been reported previously. The authors incorporated a CSR exercise into an internal medicine residency program and sought to assess the perceptions of residents and faculty participants.

Faculty met weekly with night float residents at the end of their shift. The resident presented verbally while the faculty reviewed his or her written note. In the course of 3 years, 7 faculty and 73 residents participated. Participating residents completed an anonymous survey at the end of each academic year and faculty underwent a semistructured interview administered by the authors.

A total of 73% of resident respondents believed that CSR was a valuable component of the night float rotation and should be continued. Faculty believed that the exercise allowed time for focused teaching of the night team, who otherwise received limited formal instruction. The most common critique of the sessions was the timing, because the residents often reported feeling too tired to engage actively in the sessions.

CSR was easy to implement, received well, and educationally valued by both residents and faculty. Participants viewed the exercise as useful for both teaching and formative assessment.