How to Create and Evaluate a Resident-Led Audio Program: Six Clinical Podcasts for Medicine House Staff

Podcasting in medical education has grown substantially. However, podcasts focused on internal medicine topics are relatively uncommon, and those created by or designed for medicine residents are rare. We investigated the feasibility and utilization of an open-access resident-created podcast targeted to the educational needs of internal medicine house staff.

We distributed a needs assessment to 184 internal medicine residents at the University of Washington to assess podcast preferences and clinical scenarios perceived to be challenging. Based on the results, we developed a standardized method for podcast development and production. We created six episodes, utilizing a web-based podcasting platform. For outcome measures, we collected the number of unique downloads, and the perception of the podcast was evaluated by residents in comparison to other residency-sponsored educational activities with a survey.

Eighty-one residents (44%) completed the needs assessment, with participants expressing interest in resident-focused podcasts and a preference for relatively short episodes focused on high-yield clinical information. The episodes were downloaded 661 times. Residents gave the podcast an average rating of 4.32 out of 5 (n = 22), among the highest of educational modalities surveyed. Our podcasting development process also resulted in a generalized, reusable schema.

Our resident-generated podcasts were desired, feasible, and well utilized. They were also rated highly compared to more traditional educational modalities. Our podcast-creation schema serves as a road map for trainees to develop podcasts. Podcasting can be a resource for resident education and an opportunity for residents to grow as medical educators.