Failure of a Web-based educational tool to improve residents' scores on the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination.

@article{citeulike:929692, abstract = {HYPOTHESIS: Usage of a Web-based educational tool will improve residents' scores on the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE). DESIGN: Before and after trial. SETTING: Academic surgical residency in a tertiary care university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Nineteen postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) and PGY2 residents. INTERVENTION: All PGY1 and PGY2 residents were given unlimited access to a Web-based educational tool aimed at early-level residents in surgery. The educational tool covers the basic science of surgery and basic concepts of clinical surgery and uses a variety of educational techniques (readings, problem-based learning, case-based learning, and practice tests). Although residents were encouraged to complete the learning package, they were not required to do so. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The ABSITE scores and changes in ABSITE scores were compared with the amount of time residents spent using the program and the number of tutorials completed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in ABSITE scores before or after the use of the Web-based educational tool. There was no significant relationship between use of the tool (either in total time or total tutorials) and ABSITE score. For PGY2 residents, there was a negative relationship between total time spent on the program and ABSITE score (linear regression analysis best-fit slope, -0.20 +/- 0.1; r2 = 0.33) and total tutorials completed and ABSITE score (linear regression analysis best-fit slope, -0.34 +/- 0.22; r2 = 0.25). CONCLUSION: There was no demonstrable beneficial effect of a Web-based educational tool on cognitive knowledge of residents as measured by ABSITE scores.}, address = {Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114, USA. cferguson@partners.org}, author = {Ferguson, C. M. and Warshaw, A. L. }, citeulike-article-id = {929692}, issn = {0004-0010}, journal = {Arch Surg}, keywords = {k99, residency, surgery, wbl}, month = {April}, number = {4}, posted-at = {2007-02-07 07:48:44}, priority = {5}, title = {Failure of a Web-based educational tool to improve residents' scores on the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination.}, url = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16622938}, volume = {141}, year = {2006} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:929692 L3 - citeulike-article-id:929692 TI - Failure of a Web-based educational tool to improve residents' scores on the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination. JF - Arch Surg VL - 141 IS - 4 AD - Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114, USA. cferguson@partners.org SN - 0004-0010 N2 - HYPOTHESIS: Usage of a Web-based educational tool will improve residents' scores on the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE). DESIGN: Before and after trial. SETTING: Academic surgical residency in a tertiary care university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Nineteen postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) and PGY2 residents. INTERVENTION: All PGY1 and PGY2 residents were given unlimited access to a Web-based educational tool aimed at early-level residents in surgery. The educational tool covers the basic science of surgery and basic concepts of clinical surgery and uses a variety of educational techniques (readings, problem-based learning, case-based learning, and practice tests). Although residents were encouraged to complete the learning package, they were not required to do so. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The ABSITE scores and changes in ABSITE scores were compared with the amount of time residents spent using the program and the number of tutorials completed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in ABSITE scores before or after the use of the Web-based educational tool. There was no significant relationship between use of the tool (either in total time or total tutorials) and ABSITE score. For PGY2 residents, there was a negative relationship between total time spent on the program and ABSITE score (linear regression analysis best-fit slope, -0.20 +/- 0.1; r2 = 0.33) and total tutorials completed and ABSITE score (linear regression analysis best-fit slope, -0.34 +/- 0.22; r2 = 0.25). CONCLUSION: There was no demonstrable beneficial effect of a Web-based educational tool on cognitive knowledge of residents as measured by ABSITE scores. KW - k99 KW - residency KW - surgery KW - wbl AU - Ferguson, CM AU - Warshaw, AL PY - 2006/04// UR - http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16622938 ER -