Evaluation of the Utility of an Off-service Orthopedic Rotation for Emergency Medicine Residents

OBJECTIVE: Emergency Medicine (EM) residents perform a number of off-service rotations throughout their training. The utility of these rotations in enhancing their knowledge and performance in these areas has not been studied. We have previously shown that the majority of off-service rotations do no...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Academic emergency medicine 2003-05, Vol.10 (5), p.459-459
Main Author: Hahn, B. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:OBJECTIVE: Emergency Medicine (EM) residents perform a number of off-service rotations throughout their training. The utility of these rotations in enhancing their knowledge and performance in these areas has not been studied. We have previously shown that the majority of off-service rotations do not improve inservice scores. We will evaluate whether an orthopedic off-service rotation (ORTH) will improve resident skills in orthopedics. METHODS: Published criteria for skills and knowledge that should be obtained during an ORTH were reviewed. Based upon these criteria, we developed a novel tool to evaluate practical skills learned during the ORTH. This included splint application (SA), performance of a specialized orthopedic examination (EX) and radiographic interpretation and general knowledge (XR). A committee of EM trained physicians devised scoring criteria. A 100-point scale was devised among the 3 areas: SA 27%, EX 25%, XR 48%. The same EM physicians tested all subjects. Residents who had completed an ORTH were compared to those who had not completed an ORTH. Comparisons were made only between residents of the same post-graduate year. Data was analyzed by Student's t-Tests. Alpha was set at 0.05. RESULTS: 8 subjects were tested, 4 prior to their ORTH, and 4 after completing their ORTH. Results were as follows: With ORTH Without ORTH P-value SA 61.3% +/- 29.3% 68.5% +/- 21.1% 0.70 EX 64.5% +/- 14.3% 65.0% +/- 15.1% 0.96 XR 67.5% +/- 16.0% 61.8% +/- 13.7% 0.61 Total 65.3% +/- 16.7% 64.3% +/- 6.7% 0.92 CONCLUSION: The ORTH did not appear to affect the subject's ability to perform on the examination. This data correlates with results obtained from previous studies of performance on inservice examinations. Reevaluation of off-service rotations for EM residents is essential. Validation of these results in multiple centers is necessary. Development of tools to evaluate residents in other off-service rotation is warranted.
ISSN:1069-6563
1553-2712
DOI:10.1197/aemj.10.5.459