Impact of a postgraduate year one (PGY-1) otolaryngology bootcamp on procedural skill development

Benjamin Wajsberg; Daniel Li; Avraham Kohanzadeh; Anna C Bitners; Scott Gorthey; Marc J Gibber; Esther Rong; John P Bent; Mona Gangar; Christina J Yang

doi:10.12688/mep.19187.1

Impact of a postgraduate year one (PGY-1) otolaryngology bootcamp on procedural skill development

MedEdPublish (2016). 2022 Jul 4:12:47. doi: 10.12688/mep.19187.1. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Benjamin Wajsberg¹, Daniel Li², Avraham Kohanzadeh¹, Anna C Bitners³, Scott Gorthey⁴, Marc J Gibber⁴, Esther Rong⁵, John P Bent⁴, Mona Gangar⁴, Christina J Yang^{4

6}

Affiliations

¹ Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.
² Department of Surgery (Division of Otolaryngology), Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
³ Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁴ Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA.
⁵ Department of Radiology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, Montefiore Medical Center/Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, New York, USA.

Abstract

Background: To measure the impact of an intensive eight-week postgraduate year one (PGY-1) otolaryngology bootcamp on the acquisition and retention of otolaryngology residents' procedural skills compared to the traditional method of skill acquisition through clinical exposure. Methods: Residents at our institution were evaluated on their performance of flexible laryngoscopy, suture ligature, and rigid bronchoscopy setup at three time points: pre-bootcamp, one-week post-bootcamp, and one-year post-bootcamp. Video recordings were scored by two blinded faculty reviewers using a multipoint rating system. A control group of rising postgraduate year two (PGY-2) residents who did not participate in bootcamp were recorded performing these same skills. Scores in the three skills were compared between groups via t-tests. The eight-week bootcamp curriculum for PGY-1s was held at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Innovation in Simulation at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center. The participants were two classes of PGY-1 residents (n=8) at our institution who participated in a bootcamp at the beginning of residency, and one class of rising PGY-2 residents (n=3) who did not participate in a bootcamp (control group). Results: A comparison of pre-bootcamp scores to one-week post-bootcamp scores showed significant improvement in suture ligature ( P<0.05) and rigid bronchoscopy ( P<0.05), but no difference in flexible laryngoscopy ( P=0.54). Suture ligature ( P=0.09) and rigid bronchoscopy ( P=0.25) skills were not significantly different from one-week post-bootcamp to one-year post-bootcamp; however, a significant skill improvement was observed in flexible laryngoscopy ( P<0.05). By June of PGY1 year, the two bootcamp cohorts were similar to controls in all three skills: flexible laryngoscopy ( P=0.05), rigid bronchoscopy ( P=0.26), and suture ligature ( P=0.10). Conclusions: Participation in PGY-1 bootcamp was associated with improved acquisition and short-term retention of basic procedural skills, suggesting that bootcamps can be an effective arena to teach basic skills in otolaryngology. PGY-1 bootcamp is a promising arena for multi-institutional development.

Keywords: Bootcamp; Medical education; Otolaryngology; Procedural skills.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) Einstein Montefiore CTSA (Clinical and Translational Science Awards) [Grant Number UL1TR001073] to Christina Yang. The grant had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, or manuscript creation.