408EMF The Impact of Driving on Podcast Knowledge Acquisition and Retention among Emergency Medicine Resident Physicians

Abstract

Emergency medicine (EM) residents use podcasts as part of their learning process, often listening while driving. It is unclear how the rapid task switching required of driving while listening to a podcast impacts knowledge acquisition and retention. This study evaluated the knowledge gained from listening to podcasts and driving versus undistracted listening. This was a multicenter, randomized, crossover trial among postgraduate year (PGY) 1-4 EM residents at four institutions. Residents were block randomized by site and PGY level to listen to podcasts while driving first or sitting undistracted in a room first. Within one hour of listening, they completed a 15-question test. They subsequently crossed over to the alternate intervention, serving as their own controls, and completed a second 15-question test. Each of the podcasts were professionally recorded and based on five EM-relevant journal articles that were uncommonly discussed and had not been covered in journal club at any of the institutions. At one month, participants completed a delayed recall test. Questions were derived and validity evidence was collected prior to use. Data were compared using a paired-sample t-test and ANOVA. 80 residents completed the initial recall tests and 63 residents completed the delayed recall test. There was no statistically significant difference between the driving and seated cohorts for the initial recall (75.9% versus 75.7%; p = 0.883) or delayed recall (55.1% versus 52.5%; p = 0.207). Driving while listening to a podcast does not affect knowledge acquisition or retention when compared with undistracted podcast listening among EM residents.