374 Effectiveness of an Educational Intensive Course on A/I Clinical and Diagnostic Procedures

BACKGROUND: The U.S.A. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires that graduate medical education programs in A/I prepare specialists to provide expert medical care for patients with A/I disorders. The A/I intensive education course (boot camp) program was implemented at the University of South Florida (USF) to facilitate fellows' education of common clinical and diagnostic procedures conducted in the specialty. Educational methods included PowerPoint presentations and demonstration of clinical and diagnostic procedures by faculty and senior fellows and hands-on participation by the fellows-in-training. The topics covered included: anaphylaxis, spirometry, exhaled nitric oxide determination, routine and special skin testing, prescribing and administering immunotherapy, asthma education and inhaler technique, management of atopic dermatitis, food challenge, patch testing, antibiotic desensitization and challenge, principles of treatment with intravenous and subcutaneous gammaglobulin, and special immunology testing. METHODS: Six A/I fellows (four 1st and two 2nd year) participated in the boot camp on July 22, 2011. All completed a 49-item multiple-choice pre-test followed by the boot camp, after which same questions were administered as post-test. Scores were compared by paired t test. RESULTS: Six participants completed the study. The average number of correct answers increased from 26.3/49 to 39.0/49 with pre- and post-test mean scores of 53.8% and 79.6%, respectively (P = 0.009). There was a significant difference between 1st and 2nd year fellows in test results when comparing pre- and post-test scores (P ≤ 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An educational boot camp approach integrating theory and practice about A/I clinical and diagnostic procedures significantly increased the competency of A/I fellows at the beginning of their first and second year of training.