Incorporating Retrieval Practice Into Intensive Care Unit Teaching Rounds: A Feasibility Study

Teaching rounds are an important component of the learning environment for residents in the intensive care unit (ICU). Retrieval practice is a cognitive learning tool that helps learners consolidate information and might improve the quality and culture of teaching rounds.

We performed a feasibility study from October 2018 to June 2019 to investigate the incorporation of retrieval practice into ICU rounds.

Participants included internal medicine and family medicine residents and pulmonary and critical care medicine fellows and faculty on medical ICU (MICU) teams at a tertiary care academic medical center. For 1-week periods, residents were asked to use retrieval practice after rounds, sharing one learning point. Participants were anonymously surveyed about the feasibility and acceptability of this strategy and perceptions of the educational value of ICU rounds before and after incorporating retrieval practice.

We enrolled 9 MICU teams, including 31 residents, 8 fellows, and 8 attendings. Pre- and postsurvey response rates were 89% and 91% (42 and 43 of 47, respectively). Sixty-nine percent of respondents (30 of 43) reported sharing learning points on at least 3 days of the intervention week. Eighty-six percent of respondents (37 of 43) said retrieval practice did not adversely affect the workflow at the end of rounds. The perception that teaching on rounds was a priority increased after the intervention (3.93 versus 4.28 on 1-5 Likert scale, P = .047).

Using retrieval practice on MICU rounds was feasible and acceptable and was associated with an increase in the perceived priority given to teaching on rounds.