A Randomized Trial Assessing the Effect of Exercise on Residents' Podcast Knowledge Acquisition and Retention

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Podcasts are a popular learning tool for resident physicians, often consumed during other activities like exercise.
• The impact of exercise on learning and memory retention is debated, with conflicting evidence.
• Understanding how concurrent activities affect learning is crucial for optimizing medical education strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of exercise on knowledge acquisition and retention in resident physicians listening to podcasts.
• To compare learning outcomes between residents listening to podcasts while exercising versus those listening while seated and undistracted.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter, randomized, crossover trial involving emergency medicine residents across 5 U.S. institutions.
• Participants listened to 30-minute podcasts on emergency medicine topics under two conditions: seated and during 30 minutes of aerobic exercise.
• Knowledge was assessed via immediate multiple-choice tests and a delayed recall test at 30 days.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences were observed in initial knowledge recall between the exercise and seated groups (74.4% vs 76.3%, P = .12).
• Delayed recall at 30 days also showed no significant difference between the two listening conditions (52.3% vs 52.5%, P = .46).
• The study included 96 residents, with high completion rates for both immediate and delayed recall tests.

Conclusions:

• Exercising while listening to podcasts does not appear to significantly hinder or enhance knowledge acquisition or retention in resident physicians.
• The findings suggest that residents can potentially utilize exercise time for podcast-based learning without compromising educational outcomes.
• Further research could explore different types of podcasts, exercise intensities, or learning materials.