Background: With the vast majority of internet users watching videos, traditional learning via paper text seems passé. To keep up with the demands of millennials, educators need to consider web-based video (WBV) curricula. Moving away from printed materials and didactic lectures allows for passive retention to be replaced by vivid imagery, interactive participation, and acquisition of knowledge, all at the convenience of learning at one's own pace. With frequent resident rotations (q 4 week intervals) in various subspecialties, the high turnover rate creates an educational challenge to maintain consistency on achieving the learning goals and objectives for each rotation. Moreover, faculty educators must overcome the repetitive and mundane task of ensuring the same material is covered every rotation, while mitigate sounding like a “broken-record” which may be construed as uninspiring and non-stimulating.
Purpose: To provide a descriptive of a WBV curriculum as a supplementary learning resource during the resident’s cardiothoracic anesthesia rotation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Methods: Utilizing a free app called Adobe Spark Video, a series of WBVs were created from topics deemed essential, which included: 1) Cardiac Vasoactive Infusion Setup, 2) Central Line Placement, 3) Swan Ganz Catheters, 4) Basics of Hemodynamics, 5) Introduction to Echo- getting started, and 6) Cardiac Tamponade. Some of the WBVs involved the residents as the instructors, thus allowing them to participate as fellow educators to their junior colleagues. Anesthesia residents (CA2 and CA3, n=10) were emailed a link to all the WBVs at the start of his/her rotation. After their rotation, they were asked to complete an anonymous on-line survey to determine how effective this format helped them learn new skills and/or cardiothoracic topics.
Results: The video links are: 1) https://voice.adobe.com/a/r16m... 2) https://spark.adobe.com/video/I3GvkpyWhdgBa3) https://spark.adobe.com/video/... 4) https://spark.adobe.com/video/... 5) https://voice.adobe.com/a/mLKx... 6) https://spark.adobe.com/video/... , respectively. One hundred percent viewed the WBVs, while some residents watched it more than once. Convenience, short video segments (2-5 mins), and the ability to pause/rewind/play were all cited as the most attractive feature. When surveyed about using WBV to learn a new skill, 63.64% preferred to watch an instructional video first on their own, while realistically, only 54% would read about the procedure.
Conclusions: WBV modules offer many advantages, namely: 1) it fulfills the basic learning goals and objectives of the 6 aforementioned essential topics in a consistent manner between trainees, 2) it affords clear expectations of “how” to perform a technical skill that is institution specific, 3) it creates synergy by fostering exploration into more intellectual topics in an interactive format, and 4) it makes learning more efficient by freeing up time to discuss more advanced topics while on busy subspecialty rotations. Millennial learners prefer instructional videos to learn new skills. Since digital technology in learning environments affords many advantages, it must be embrace by residency programs to stay relevant for the future.
References:
1. Batthish M, Bassilious E, Schneider R, Feldman BM, Hyman A, Tse SM. A unique, interactive and web-based pediatric rheumatology teaching module: residents’ perceptions. Pediatric Rheumatology Online Journal. 2013;11:22. doi:10.1186/1546-0096-11-22.
