App-Based Cardiology Education for Pediatric Residents

Pediatric cardiology education requires mastery of physiology, anatomy, and spatial reasoning. There is limited published data on pediatric cardiology education for medical trainees. Mobile applications have emerged as a new asynchronous option to supplement formal medical education. We performed an acceptability study using a mobile educational app, Heartpedia™ (HP) to assess itsusefulness to learners in CHD education. This was a single center prospective cohort study of pediatric interns during their cardiology rotation. Individuals were given a tutorial on how to install and use HP but were not required. Surveys and tests were administered before and after their month-long rotation. The tests contained questions based on two cardiac lesions: a perimembranous ventricular septal defect (VSD) and Truncus Arteriosus (TA) Type 1. 53 pediatric interns participated in the study with 66% reported to have used HP. App usage correlated with lesion test score improvement for TA but not VSD. >80% of learners described HP as a helpful, easy to use educational resource for learners, and agreed it improved their understanding of CHD lesions and their management. The Heartpedia™ application was used by most residents during their rotation and found it helpful for their understanding of anatomy and physiology and yielded improved understanding of complex CHD. While app usage showed some improvement in knowledge gains on certain cardiac lesions, further study is warranted to assess the efficacy of mobile learning applications for CHD education.