Curriculum Transition From Lecture-Based to Team-Based Learning is Associated With Improved Performance on Internal...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Graduate Medical Training
• Knowledge Acquisition

Background:

• Team-based learning (TBL) is an alternative educational method in graduate medical education.
• Evidence on TBL's impact on knowledge acquisition and standardized test performance is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between resident performance on the Internal Medicine In-Training Examination (IM-ITE) and two educational methods: TBL versus traditional lectures.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of TBL in enhancing medical knowledge acquisition.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective study comparing internal medicine residents before and after a curriculum transition from lectures to TBL at Albany Medical College.
• Residents from 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 (lecture cohort) were compared with those from 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 (TBL cohort).
• Statistical analysis, including univariate and multivariable regression, was used to assess the impact of TBL on IM-ITE scores, controlling for covariates like medical school type, gender, and USMLE Step 2 CK scores.

Main Results:

• Residents in the TBL cohort demonstrated higher IM-ITE scores across all postgraduate years (PGY-1, PGY-2, PGY-3) compared to the lecture cohort.
• Specifically, PGY-1 scores were 61.0% (TBL) vs. 55.0% (lecture), PGY-2 scores were 69.0% vs. 59.7%, and PGY-3 scores were 73.2% vs. 61.7% (all P < .001).
• Multivariable regression revealed that the transition to TBL increased the IM-ITE Z-score by 0.415 (P < .001) when accounting for all covariates.

Conclusions:

• Team-based learning (TBL) is associated with improved resident medical knowledge acquisition.
• The shift from a lecture-based curriculum to TBL resulted in significantly higher performance on the IM-ITE.
• TBL represents an effective educational strategy for enhancing resident learning in internal medicine.