A Curriculum for Lumbar Puncture Training in Internal Medicine Residency

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Background: Lumbar puncture (LP), although not mandatory for internal medicine (IM) residents to perform, remains a vital procedure for hospitalized patients. The optimal method for training residents in LP is not established. Objective: We implemented, and evaluated a curriculum (online video, post-video quiz, group discussion, checklist, simulation training) for training PGY-2 IM residents in performing LPs. Methods: We surveyed residents after completion of the curriculum and compared LP logs for the cohort who participated in this training to the prior year of residents without the curriculum. Results: Overall survey response rate was 65%. 98% of residents found the pre-course materials useful; 92% agreed or strongly agreed that the in-person training session helped them to correctly perform an LP. 90% of residents found simulation training useful and 84% responded that the training session increased their confidence to perform an LP. However, compared to the prior residency class who did not have LP training, the initial class that underwent training did not perform more LPs during their residency: median 2 (inter-quartile range 0-5) vs. 2 (inter-quartile range 0-4.25), respectively (p = 0.98). Conclusion: Despite not leading to an increase in LP rates, our curriculum was very well received by PGY-2 IM residents.