Longitudinal Reliability of Milestones Learning Trajectories during Anesthesiology Residency

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Graduate Medical Training
• Competency-Based Assessment

Background:

• Longitudinal Milestones data are crucial for assessing resident development in medical competencies.
• Reliability of these Milestones data for tracking learning trajectories remains underexplored.
• Understanding learning patterns can inform targeted interventions for residents and training programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the longitudinal reliability of anesthesiology Milestones data.
• To identify patterns in resident learning trajectories.
• To inform the development of targeted interventions in graduate medical education.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study using national anesthesiology Milestones data (2014-2020).
• Mixed-effects growth curve models to analyze resident growth trajectories.
• Latent class growth analyses to identify distinct learning trajectory groups.

Main Results:

• Analysis of 682,475 ratings from 4,976 residents across 140 programs.
• Moderate growth rate reliability (0.58 ± 0.03) and acceptable growth curve reliability (0.71 ± 0.02) were found.
• Significant learner and program level variability observed; 3-4 distinct learning trajectory groups identified.

Conclusions:

• Anesthesiology Milestones offer moderately reliable longitudinal tracking of resident progress.
• Multifaceted assessment and individualized learning plans are essential for resident development.
• Findings support the utility of Milestones data in competency-based medical education.