2545. Needs Assessment for a Presentation Skills Curriculum in an Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program

Abstract

BackgroundPresentation skills are critical for infectious diseases fellows regardless of their ultimate career path. Despite this, there is little emphasis on training in presentation skills within the infectious diseases (ID) fellowship curricula.MethodsTo determine the perceived need for a presentation skills curriculum for ID fellows, faculty and fellows were asked to complete a brief online needs assessment. The survey included questions on demographics, prior presentation experience and skills training, perceived need for and interest in a presentation skills curriculum, and the preferred modality for such a curriculum. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each theme.ResultsIn April 2019, 4/4 fellows and 15/22 faculty members completed the online survey. While all fellows (100%) agreed or strongly agreed their presentation skills could be improved, only 50% wanted more feedback about their presentation skills and only 50% were interested in training to improve their presentation skills (Figure 1). Concerns about time constraints were noted in the optional comments. Most faculty (87%) agreed or strongly agreed that fellow presentation skills could be improved and most felt empowered (73%) and were willing (73%) to provide the fellows with feedback. Only 27% of faculty reported prior training in presentation skills and 60% expressed an interest in receiving training before providing the fellows with feedback. Regarding presentation skills feedback modalities (Figure 2), fellow respondents expressed a preference for written feedback (75%) and in-person, one-on-one feedback (75%); faculty respondents were willing to provide written feedback (93%), in-person, one-on-one feedback (80%) and in-person feedback with a group of other faculty (73%).ConclusionThis study provides a framework for ID fellowship programs interested in developing a presentation skills curriculum. The results support the need for a presentation skills curriculum, but interest in such a curriculum is not universal. Our findings will guide the development and structure of a curriculum that will target interested faculty and aim to benefit the fellows without putting an undue onus on their time and other commitments. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.