Clinical Neuroscience Podcasts for Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Neurology Residents: A Needs Assessment Study (P1.312)

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study was to identify the preferred content and format of a proposed series of clinical neuroscience podcasts using a survey-based needs assessment of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Neurology residents. BACKGROUND: Podcasts are a form of audio media that have increasingly been adopted to enhance medical education. Unanswered questions include whether podcasts could serve as an effective tool to fill knowledge gaps identified a priori by learners or which production features would make learners more likely to use the podcasts. METHODS: 77 Family Medicine, 19 Internal Medicine, and 14 Neurology residents completed surveys to determine which topics and production features they deemed to be most important. Responses were analyzed both quantitively (e.g. Likert scales rating production features) and quantitatively (e.g. using coding techniques to identify topics of interest on free-form responses). RESULTS: Among all the responders, 93% had listened to autio from the internet in the past year, 74% had listened to a podcast, and 64% had listened specifically to a medical education podcast. The top 3 podcast production features as rated on a 5 point Likert scale were: (mean, 95% confidence interval): credibility of podcast source material (4.24, 4.10-4.37); ability to navigate quickly to desired content/excerpts (4.19, 4.06-4.31), and; production and audio quality (4.09, 3.98-4.20). The most common content themes identified by Family Medicine residents were headache, multiple sclerosis, stroke, stroke rehabilitation, and degenerative disc disease. Internal Medicine residents most frequently identified stroke, peripheral neuropathy, neurological exam, CNS tumours, and stroke rehabilitation. Neurology residents most frequently identified stroke, mulitple sclerosis, epilepsy, management of raised intracranial pressure, and spasticity management. CONCLUSIONS: There was much interest in clinical neuroscience podcasts among residents in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Neurology. We identified features and content that can be incorporated into our proposed podcasts to specifically address the needs of our potential audience. Disclosure: Dr. Brust has nothing to disclose.