Creating a culture of lifelong learning among Med-Peds Residents

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. IntroductionInstitutional Culture is difficult to change but is imperative to the quality of physicians at an institution and its trainees.Background/RationaleNot all physicians practice life-long learning. Barriers include emphasis on clinical productivity, ineffective online searching, inadequate personal initiative and institutional culture. We were concerned that our institutional culture did not routinely stimulate the dynamic discussion of recent literature. To impact this culture, we implemented a lifelong learning lecture series for combined medicine-pediatrics (Med-Peds) physicians.MethodsArticles were selected from the American Academy of Pediatrics Grand Rounds and American College of Physicians Journal Clubs. 8-10 Articles were reviewed in "rapid fire' style and heated discussion was encouraged. Participants completed tests assessing knowledge pertaining to the articles to quantify their engagement.Results120 articles were reviewed during 15 lectures. 37 out of a potential 40 physicians participated. Participants answered a mean of 11% more questions correctly on short term recall (p=0.0026) and on long term recall (p= 0.0600) when compared to their baseline knowledge. When comparing the questions that pertained to lectures the participants attended versus those they did not attend participants answered 7% more questions correctly on short term recall ( p=0.0800) and long term recall ( p=0.1200).ConclusionsCulture is difficult to measure. The improved correct responses to questions about the papers presented suggests that the participants did engage in the discussion of the articles. Given the nature of Med-Peds training, culture change has the potential to affect the culture within both departments.