Empowering Learning: Self-Directed Strategies of Internal Medicine Residents in an Academic Coaching Program

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cognitive Psychology
• Physician Training

Background:

• Self-directed learning (SDL) is vital for physicians to stay current.
• Graduate medical education (GME) increasingly uses academic coaching for lifelong learning.
• Limited evidence exists on resident SDL strategies within cognitive load theory.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate internal medicine resident SDL within academic coaching.
• Analyze alignment of resident SDL strategies with cognitive load theory.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study in an internal medicine residency program.
• Semistructured interviews with 16 residents (59% participation).
• Thematic analysis of interview transcripts to identify SDL behaviors and resource use.

Main Results:

• Residents create personalized, goal-oriented learning plans.
• Residents utilize diverse strategies, emphasizing retrieval practice and multimodal resources.
• Residents employ deliberate repetition and spaced learning for knowledge consolidation.

Conclusions:

• Internal medicine residents adopt structured, cognitively informed SDL strategies.
• Academic coaching facilitates effective SDL implementation in GME.
• Resident SDL practices align with principles of cognitive load theory.