Applying the Principles of Bloom’s Taxonomy to Managing Tachyarrhythmia: Results of a Tachyarrhythmia Workshop

Introduction Resident physicians are routinely required to evaluate and manage patients with tachyarrhythmias. We developed a comprehensive workshop in an effort to improve residents’ competence and confidence at managing tachyarrhythmias. Methods A total of 55 residents attended the workshop and underwent pre- and post-testing to assess their competence of identifying and managing different arrhythmia. The participants were also asked to describe the comfort level managing these patients. After the pre-test, they participated in an interactive one hour session in which a cardiologist discussed common tachyarrhythmias and their management. For the next hour, the residents were then divided into groups of four to five. Using mannequins connected to heart monitors, the residents would be provided with a clinical vignette and asked to identify the heart rhythm and suggest management. A mock medication cart, and actual cardioverters-defibrillators were available. If the resident physician were to deliver cardioversion appropriately, the rhythm would change to sinus, and the patient’s hemodynamics would improve, thus providing live feedback for correct management. Results Amongst the 55 residents that participated in this study, the mean scores were 13.1 for pre-testing and 17.9 for post-testing, respectively (p = 0.0001). Residents’ mean comfort levels at managing tachyarrhythmias were 2.6 prior to testing and 3.6 post-testing (p = 0.0001). Conclusion We demonstrate that a two-hour focused tachyarrhythmia workshop significantly improved residents’ comfort level and competence in managing patients with tachyarrhythmia. By focusing on the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation, we were able to improve the educational experience for our resident physicians.