A Pilot Study: An Online Teaching Tool for Standardization of Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Curriculum

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Learning objectives for gynecologic oncology (GO) fellowships have been created, however a standard curriculum does not exist. There is interest amongst program directors to develop a standardized curriculum with online teaching tools. This study was conducted to determine the learning needs of GO fellows and to assess the use of web-based teaching in this group of learners. METHODS: An 18 minute teaching module on surgical management of vulvar cancer was created and validated by experts. The module was then emailed to fellows with a pre and post-module survey. The survey assessed the learners needs, the learners knowledge and the usefulness of the module. RESULTS: One hundred ninety GO fellows were surveyed, 72 (38%) responses were received. Most participants were in their second year of clinical fellowship (42%). The majority of GO fellowships have a weekly teaching conference with faculty participation. Resources utilized by fellows for learning are textbooks and journal articles, with all responders ranking these as their first or second preferred resource. The teaching module was an effective teaching tool as demonstrated by improved scores across the four content based questions. The webinar was well received by the fellows, with 92% saying they liked this teaching tool and 46/48 (96%) felt that they would view additional presentations if provided. In addition 45/49 (92%) felt that this type of teaching filled a need in GO fellowship. DISCUSSION: Many GO fellowships utilize faculty directed teaching conferences. This online teaching tool improved fellow knowledge and additional modules would be well received in this population of learners.