A Curriculum on Advanced Topics in Hypertension for Internal Medicine Residents

Area of Science:

• Internal Medicine Education
• Cardiovascular Disease Management
• Hypertension (HTN) Research

Background:

• Hypertension affects nearly half of US adults, yet Internal Medicine residents often lack proficiency in advanced management topics.
• Existing educational strategies may not adequately address complex hypertension scenarios, leading to knowledge gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and assess the impact of a specialized curriculum on advanced hypertension topics for Internal Medicine residents.
• To evaluate changes in residents' confidence, desire for further training, and knowledge retention post-curriculum.

Main Methods:

• A multi-institutional curriculum focused on four advanced hypertension topics was delivered via ambulatory educational half-day sessions.
• Residents completed pre-, immediate post-, and 8-week post-curriculum surveys (Likert scales) and multiple-choice quizzes.
• Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare changes in confidence, desire for training, and knowledge scores over time.

Main Results:

• Confidence scores significantly increased across all topics immediately post-curriculum and remained elevated at 8 weeks (P < 0.001).
• Desire for future training scores decreased significantly post-curriculum and were sustained at 8 weeks (P < 0.001).
• Mean knowledge scores improved from 48% pre-curriculum to 62% immediately post-curriculum and remained higher at 8 weeks (P = 0.015).

Conclusions:

• The developed curriculum effectively enhanced Internal Medicine residents' confidence and knowledge in advanced hypertension management.
• The educational intervention demonstrated durable knowledge gains and a reduced, yet partially satisfied, desire for future training.
• This curriculum represents a successful strategy for addressing critical knowledge deficits in complex hypertension care among residents.