Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Sep 2021)

Formative Feedback with In-Class Question Bank Utilization Improves Resident Satisfaction with General Surgery Didactics

  • Hammond JB,
  • Sheaffer WW,
  • Teven CM,
  • Wasif N,
  • Mishra N,
  • Davila VJ,
  • Casey WJ,
  • Polveroni TM,
  • Moore LW,
  • Smith AA

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 12
pp. 1033 – 1041

Abstract

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Jacob B Hammond, William W Sheaffer, Chad M Teven, Nabil Wasif, Nitin Mishra, Victor J Davila, William J Casey, Thomas M Polveroni, Leah W Moore, Anthony A Smith Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USACorrespondence: Anthony A Smith Email [email protected]: Formative feedback provides low-stakes opportunities for educational improvement. To enrich our basic science didactics, formative feedback measures were incorporated into our didactics using mobile devices.Materials and Methods: Lecture changes included institutional paid access to a commercial question bank, a 5-item in-class pre-didactic quiz curated from the question bank and taken on the resident’s mobile device, and group discussion of quiz topics. An anonymous survey was sent to participating residents.Results: Overall response rate was 71% among residents. All reported that the new lecture format was a valuable addition to the basic science curriculum (100% Agree/Strongly Agree), and formative assessments provided valuable feedback about the progress of their learning (Strongly Agree = 42%, Agree =58%). All residents reported that in-class use of their mobile device for quizzes was convenient, with majority (84%) preferring it over paper printouts. Residents were more motivated to study before lecture (Strongly Agree = 42%, Agree =42%), with majority also reporting the new format helped identify weaknesses in their knowledgebase (Strongly Agree = 58%, Agree =33%). While majority of residents agreed that quizzes motivated them to study more after lecture, a large portion disagreed (42%). Majority of senior residents reported that the process of composing quizzes prior to lecture enriched their own learning (57%) and helped them find gaps in their knowledge (71%).Conclusion: Incorporating a commercial question bank within didactics gives general surgery residents formative feedback and encourages learning outside the classroom, leading to improved satisfaction with basic science didactics.Keywords: education, surgery, mobile device, question bank, formative feedback

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