Case-Based Curriculum With Integrated Smartphone Applications Improves Internal Medicine Resident Knowledge Of Contraceptive Care

Abstract

Background

Contraception is an essential preventive service for all women. However, the literature suggests that internal medicine residents have low levels of confidence and knowledge of contraceptive care.

Objective

We designed and implemented a novel contraception curriculum promoting active, collaborative learning. We sought to evaluate whether this curriculum improved internal medicine resident knowledge of and comfort with contraceptive care through the administration of pre-/post-surveys.

Methods

Our curriculum was delivered in a two-hour session as part of the mandatory ambulatory curriculum for internal medicine interns at our institution in the academic year 2017–2018. Interns were provided with select online resources and two smartphone applications at the beginning of the session, which they then used in case-based small group work. Small group work was followed by a large group case review, co-facilitated by OB/GYN and internal medicine faculty.

Results

Thirty-eight participants completed surveys assessing knowledge of and comfort with contraceptive care immediately before and after the curriculum; 20 participants completed surveys assessing the same domains 4–6 months after the curriculum. Data from surveys administered immediately post-curriculum demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge about and comfort with counseling about, assessing medical eligibility for, and initiating multiple forms of contraception. Many of these improvements in knowledge and comfort were maintained on follow-up surveys 4–6 months following the curriculum.

Conclusion

Our case-based curriculum with integrated smartphone applications resulted in significant improvements in internal medicine resident knowledge of and comfort with the key skills of contraceptive care. In contrast to active, collaborative learning methodologies such as the flipped classroom, our methodology supports active, collaborative learning without requiring advance learner preparation, and is thus well suited to the time constraints of the graduate medical education setting. Our methodology is readily translatable to other clinical topics and residency curricula.

Keywords:

• reproductive health
• medical education-graduate
• medical education-curriculum development/evaluation
• active learning
• contraception

Acknowledgements

Dr. Alexandra Bachorik was the 2018–2019 Sandra P. Gordon Fellow in Medical Education at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The authors would like to acknowledge Holly Gooding MD MSc, Deborah Bartz MD MPH, Kari Braaten MD MPH and Wan-Ju Wu MD MPH for their teaching as facilitators for the curriculum sessions. Lydia Pace and Helen Shields are co-senior authors.

Disclosure

The authors declare that no competing financial interests exist. We presented a poster covering this innovation and its results at the Harvard Medical School Medical Education Day on December 11, 2018.