Use of Technology to Identify and Cover Underweighted Topics in Resident Conference Curriculum

Cureus. 2019 Jan 26;11(1):e3967. doi: 10.7759/cureus.3967.

Abstract

Emergency medicine training programs face many challenges in creating and maintaining high quality didactic and asynchronous learning experiences. To address these challenges, our team created two tools. First, we designed the Emergency Medicine Curriculum Assessment Tool (EMCAT) to help program leaders compare their didactic program to the Model of Clinical Practice established by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM). Second, we created a catalog of free, open-access medical education (FOAMed) resources based on the ABEM Model subcategory. Residency leaders can use EMCAT to identify the underweighted topics in their conference program and then access the resource catalog to find educational content matched to their areas of increased need. To date, five programs have implemented EMCAT and users from over 72 countries have accessed nearly 1,000 resources. Both EMCAT and the resource catalog are available free online.

Keywords: curriculum evaluation; curriculum improvement; educational resource; emergency medicine; free open access medical education (foam); graduate medical education; international emergency medicine; residency; resident education.