Flipping Tickborne Illnesses with Infographics.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Tickborne illnesses are a critical differential diagnosis in Emergency Medicine due to high endemicity in the continental U.S.
• These zoonotic infections present significant morbidity and mortality, often mimicking common conditions.
• Understanding vectors and transmission is key for early clinical suspicion and effective treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of an interactive module in educating Emergency Medicine residents about tickborne illnesses.
• To enable learners to identify causative agents, clinical features, and appropriate treatments for various tickborne diseases.
• To evaluate learner knowledge acquisition and satisfaction with the educational methods employed.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a flipped classroom model with independent pre-reading and active in-class learning.
• Learners created infographics on tickborne illnesses, fostering collaborative knowledge sharing.
• Assessed learning through pre- and post-tests and a Likert scale evaluation survey.

Main Results:

• 72.7% of participants felt the session increased their knowledge of tickborne illnesses.
• 59% of participants enjoyed the flipped classroom and infographic creation format.
• 50% of participants missed zero post-course test questions, indicating successful knowledge retention.

Conclusions:

• The module effectively met educational objectives, achieving positive Kirkpatrick Levels I and II evaluation.
• The flipped classroom approach combined with infographic creation is an effective method for teaching tickborne illnesses.
• Recommendations include providing software guidance in advance to enhance the learning experience.