Evaluation of a web-based portal to improve resident education by neonatology fellows

BACKGROUND: Integration of web-based educational tools into medical training has been shown to increase accessibility of resources and optimize teaching. We developed a web-based educational portal (WBEP) to support teaching of pediatric residents about newborn medicine by neonatology fellows. OBJECTIVES: 1) To compare residents’ attitudes about their fellow-led education in the NICU pre- and post-WBEP; including assessment of factors that impact their education and usefulness of teaching tools. 2) To compare fellow utilization of various teaching modalities pre- and post-WBEP. DESIGN/METHODS: We queried residents about their attitudes regarding fellow-led education efforts and various teaching modalities in the NICU and logistics potentially impacting effectiveness. Based on these data, we introduced the WBEP – a repository of teaching tools (e.g., mock code cases, board review questions, journal articles, case-based discussion scenarios) for use by fellows to supplement didactic sessions in a faculty-based curriculum. We surveyed residents about the effectiveness of fellow teaching pre- and post-WBEP implementation and the type of fellow-led teaching modalities that were used. RESULTS: After analysis of survey responses, we identified that residents cited fellow level of interest as the most important factor impacting their education. Post-implementation, residents described greater utilization of various teaching modalities by fellows, including an increase in use of mock codes (14% to 76%, p<0.0001) and journal articles (33% to 59%, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: A web-based resource that supplements traditional curricula led to greater utilization of various teaching modalities by fellows and may encourage fellow involvement in resident teaching.