Successful implementation of a longitudinal skill-based teaching curriculum for residents

BACKGROUND: Despite significant teaching responsibilities and national accreditation standards, most residents do not receive adequate instruction in teaching methods. Published reports of residents-as-teachers programs vary from brief one-time exposures to curricula delivered over several months. A majority of interventions described are one or two-day workshops with no clear follow-up or reinforcement of skills. A three-year longitudinal teaching skills curriculum was implemented with these goals: 1) deliver an experiential skill-based teaching curriculum allowing all residents to acquire, practice and implement specific skills; 2) provide spaced skills instruction promoting deliberate practice/reflection; and 3) help residents gain confidence in their teaching skills. METHODS: One hundred percent of internal medicine residents (82/82) participated in the curriculum. Every 10 weeks residents attended a topic-specific experiential skills-based workshop. Each workshop followed the same pedagogy starting with debriefing/reflection on residents’ deliberate practice of the previously taught skill and introduction of a new skill followed by skill practice with feedback. Every year, participants completed: 1) assessment of overall confidence in each skill and 2) retrospective pre-post self-assessment. A post-curriculum survey was completed at the end of 3 years. RESULTS: Residents reported improved confidence and self-assessed competence in their teaching skills after the first year of the curriculum which was sustained through the three-year curriculum. The curriculum was well received and valued by residents. CONCLUSIONS: A formal longitudinal, experiential skills-based teaching skills curriculum is feasible and can be delivered to all residents. For meaningful skill acquisition to occur, recurrent continuous skill-based practice with feedback and reflection is important. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-021-02765-x.