Faculty Bibliography

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:The last decade has seen many changes in graduate medical education training in the USA, most notably the implementation of duty hour standards for residents by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education. As educators are left to balance more limited time available between patient care and resident education, new methods to augment traditional graduate medical education are needed. OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:To assess acceptance and use of a novel gamification-based medical knowledge software among internal medicine residents and to determine retention of information presented to participants by this medical knowledge software. METHODS:We designed and developed software using principles of gamification to deliver a web-based medical knowledge competition among internal medicine residents at the University of Alabama (UA) at Birmingham and UA at Huntsville in 2012-2013. Residents participated individually and in teams. Participants accessed daily questions and tracked their online leaderboard competition scores through any internet-enabled device. We completed focus groups to assess participant acceptance and analysed software use, retention of knowledge and factors associated with loss of participants (attrition). RESULTS:Acceptance: In focus groups, residents (n=17) reported leaderboards were the most important motivator of participation. Use: 16 427 questions were completed: 28.8% on Saturdays/Sundays, 53.1% between 17:00 and 08:00. Retention of knowledge: 1046 paired responses (for repeated questions) were collected. Correct responses increased by 11.9% (p<0.0001) on retest. Differences per time since question introduction, trainee level and style of play were observed. Attrition: In ordinal regression analyses, completing more questions (0.80 per 10% increase; 0.70 to 0.93) decreased, while postgraduate year 3 class (4.25; 1.44 to 12.55) and non-daily play (4.51; 1.50 to 13.58) increased odds of attrition. CONCLUSIONS:Our software-enabled, gamification-based educational intervention was well accepted among our millennial learners. Coupling software with gamification and analysis of trainee use and engagement data can be used to develop strategies to augment learning in time-constrained educational settings.

BACKGROUND:Better understanding teaching behaviors of highly rated clinical teachers could improve training for teaching. We examined teaching behaviors demonstrated by higher rated attending physicians. METHODS:Qualitative and quantitative group consensus using the nominal group technique (NGT) among internal medicine residents and students on hospital services (2004-2005); participants voted on the three most important teaching behaviors (weight of 3 = top rated, 1 = lowest rated). Teaching behaviors were organized into domains of successful rounding characteristics. We used teaching evaluations to sort attending physicians into tertiles of overall teaching effectiveness. RESULTS:Participants evaluated 23 faculty in 17 NGT sessions. Participants identified 66 distinct teaching behaviors (total sum of weights [sw] = 502). Nineteen items had sw ≥ 10, and these were categorized into the following domains: Teaching Process (n = 8; sw = 215, 42.8%), Learning Atmosphere (n = 5; sw = 145, 28.9%), Role Modeling (n = 3; sw = 74, 14.7%) and Team Management (n = 3; sw = 65, 12.9%). Attendings in the highest tertile received a larger number of votes for characteristics within the Teaching Process domain (56% compared to 39% in lowest tertile). CONCLUSIONS:The most effective teaching behaviors fell into two broad domains: Teaching Process and Learning Atmosphere. Highest rated attending physicians are most recognized for characteristics in the Teaching Process domain.

BACKGROUND:In 2011, the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education implemented updated guidelines for medical resident duty hours, further limiting continuous work hours for first-year residents. We sought to investigate the impact of these restrictions on graduate medical education among internal medicine residents. METHODS:We conducted eight focus groups with internal medicine residents at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 06/2012-07/2012. Discussion questions included, "How do you feel the 2011 ACGME work hour restrictions have impacted your graduate medical education?" Transcripts of the focus groups were reviewed and themes identified using a deductive/inductive approach. Participants completed a survey to collect demographic information and future practice plans. RESULTS:Thirty-four residents participated in our focus groups. Five themes emerged: decreased teaching, decreased experiential learning, shift-work mentality, tension between residency classes, and benefits and opportunities. Residents reported that since implementation of the guidelines, teaching was often deferred to complete patient-care tasks. Residents voiced concern that PGY-1 s were not receiving adequate clinical experience and that procedural and clinical reasoning skills are being negatively impacted. PGY-1 s reported being well-rested and having increased time for independent study. CONCLUSIONS:Residents noted a decline in teaching and are concerned with the decrease in "hands-on" clinical education that is inevitably impacted by fewer hours in the hospital, though some benefits were also reported. Future studies are needed to further elucidate the impact of decreased resident work hours on graduate medical education.

BACKGROUND:Ward attending rounds are an integral part of internal medicine education. Being a good teacher is necessary, but not sufficient for successful rounds. Understanding perceptions of successful attending rounds (AR) may help define key areas of focus for enhancing learning, teaching and patient care. OBJECTIVE:We sought to expand the conceptual framework of 30 previously identified attributes contributing to successful AR by: 1) identifying the most important attributes, 2) grouping similar attributes, and 3) creating a cognitive map to define dimensions and domains contributing to successful rounds. DESIGN/METHODS:Multi-institutional, cross-sectional study design. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:We recruited residents and medical students from a university-based internal medicine residency program and a community-based family medicine residency program. Faculty attending a regional general medicine conference, affiliated with multiple institutions, also participated. MAIN MEASURES/METHODS:Participants performed an unforced card-sorting exercise, grouping attributes based on perceived similarity, then rated the importance of attributes on a 5-point Likert scale. We translated our data into a cognitive map through multi-dimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. KEY RESULTS/RESULTS:Thirty-six faculty, 49 residents and 40 students participated. The highest rated attributes (mean rating) were "Teach by example (bedside manner)" (4.50), "Sharing of attending's thought processes" (4.46), "Be approachable-not intimidating" (4.45), "Insist on respect for all team members" (4.43), "Conduct rounds in an organized, efficient & timely fashion" (4.39), and "State expectations for residents/students" (4.37). Attributes were plotted on a two-dimensional cognitive map, and adequate convergence was achieved. We identified five distinct domains of related attributes: 1) Learning Atmosphere, 2) Clinical Teaching, 3) Teaching Style, 4) Communicating Expectations, and 5) Team Management. CONCLUSIONS:We identified five domains of related attributes essential to the success of ward attending rounds.

Tobacco smoking is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF), but little is known about the impact of smoking in patients with AF. Of the 4060 patients with recurrent AF in the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) trial, 496 (12%) reported having smoked during the past two years. Propensity scores for smoking were estimated for each of the 4060 patients using a multivariable logistic regression model and were used to assemble a matched cohort of 487 pairs of smokers and nonsmokers, who were balanced on 46 baseline characteristics. Cox and logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations of smoking with all-cause mortality and all-cause hospitalization, respectively, during over 5 years of follow-up. Matched participants had a mean age of 70 ± 9 years (± S.D.), 39% were women, and 11% were non-white. All-cause mortality occurred in 21% and 16% of matched smokers and nonsmokers, respectively (when smokers were compared with nonsmokers, hazard ratio=HR=1.35; 95% confidence interval=95%CI=1.01-1.81; p=0.046). Unadjusted, multivariable-adjusted and propensity-adjusted HR (95% CI) for all-cause mortality associated with smoking in the pre-match cohort were: 1.40 (1.13-1.72; p=0.002), 1.45 (1.16-1.81; p=0.001), and 1.39 (1.12-1.74; p=0.003), respectively. Smoking had no association with all-cause hospitalization (when smokers were compared with nonsmokers, odds ratio=OR=1.21; 95%CI=0.94-1.57, p=0.146). Among patients with AF, a recent history of smoking was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, but had no association with all-cause hospitalization.

Anticoagulation has been shown to decrease ischemic stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF). However, concerns remain regarding their safety and efficacy in those ≥70 years of age who constitute most patients with AF. Of the 4,060 patients (mean age 65 years, range 49 to 80) in the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) trial, 2,248 (55% of 4,060) were 70 to 80 years of age, 1,901 of whom were receiving warfarin. Propensity score for warfarin use, estimated for each of the 2,248 patients, was used to match 227 of the 347 patients not on warfarin (in 1:1, 1:2, or 1:3 sets) to 616 patients on warfarin who were balanced in 45 baseline characteristics. All-cause mortality occurred in 18% and 33% of matched patients receiving and not receiving warfarin, respectively, during up to 6 years (mean 3.4) of follow-up (hazard ratio [HR] when warfarin use was compared to its nonuse 0.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.43 to 0.77, p <0.001). All-cause hospitalization occurred in 64% and 67% of matched patients receiving and not receiving warfarin, respectively (HR associated with warfarin use 0.93, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.12, p = 0.423). Ischemic stroke occurred in 4% and 8% of matched patients receiving and not receiving warfarin, respectively (HR associated with warfarin use 0.57, 95% CI 0.31 to 1.04, p = 0.068). Major bleeding occurred in 7% and 10% of matched patients receiving and not receiving warfarin, respectively (HR associated with warfarin use 0.73, 95% CI 0.44 to 1.22, p = 0.229). In conclusion, warfarin use was associated with decreased mortality in septuagenarian patients with AF but had no association with hospitalization or major bleeding.