Impact of Asynchronous Training on Radiology Learning Curve among Emergency Medicine Residents and Clerkship Students

Web-based learning (WBL) modules are effectively used to improve medical education curriculum; however, they have not been evaluated to improve head computed tomography (CT) scan interpretation in an emergency medicine (EM) setting.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a WBL module to aid identification of cranial structures on CT and to improve ability to distinguish between normal and abnormal findings.

Prospective, before-and-after trial in the Emergency Department of an academic center. Baseline head CT knowledge was assessed via a standardized test containing ten head CT scans, including normal scans and those showing hemorrhagic stroke, trauma, and infection (abscess). All trainees then participated in a WBL intervention. Three weeks later, they were given the same ten CT scans to evaluate in a standardized posttest.

Improvement in test scores.

A total of 131 EM clerkship students and 32 EM residents were enrolled. Pretest scores correlated with stage of training, with students and first-year residents demonstrating the lowest scores. Overall, there was a significant improvement in percentage of correctly classified CT images after the training intervention from a mean pretest score of 32% ± 12% to posttest score of 67% ± 13% (mean improvement = 35% ± 13%, p < 0.001). Among subsets by training level, all subgroups except first-year residents demonstrated a statistically significant increase in scores after the training.

Incorporating asynchronous WBL modules into EM clerkship and residency curriculum provides early radiographic exposure in their clinical training and can enhance diagnostic head CT scan interpretation.