Abstract
BackgroundVaccination is the most cost-effective medical intervention known to prevent morbidity and mortality. However, data are limited on the effectiveness of residency programs in delivering immunization knowledge and skills to trainees. The authors sought to describe the immunization competency needs of medical residents at the University of Toronto (UT), and to develop and evaluate a pilot immunization curriculum.MethodsResidents at the University of Toronto across nine specialties were recruited to attend a pilot immunization workshop in November 2018. Participants completed a questionnaire before and after the workshop to assess immunization knowledge and compare baseline change. Feedback was also surveyed on the workshop content and process.Descriptive statistics were performed on the knowledge questionnaire and feedback survey. A paired sample T-test compared questionnaire answers before and after the workshop. Descriptive coding was used to identify themes from the feedback survey.ResultsTwenty residents from at least six residencies completed the pre-workshop knowledge questionnaire, seventeen attended the workshop, and thirteen completed the post-workshop questionnaire. Ninety-five percent (19/20) strongly agreed that vaccine knowledge was important to their career, and they preferred case-based teaching. The proportion of the thirty-four knowledge questions answered correctly increased from 49% before the workshop to 67% afterwards, with a mean of 2.24 (CI: 1.43, 3.04) more correct answers (P < 0.001).Sixteen residents completed the post-workshop feedback survey. Three themes emerged: first, they found the content specific and practical; second, they wanted more case-based learning and for the workshop to be longer; and third, they felt the content and presenters were of high quality.ConclusionsFindings from this study suggest current immunization training of UT residents does not meet their training competency requirements. The study’s workshop improved participants’ immunization knowledge. The information from this study could be used to develop residency immunization curriculum at UT and beyond.
Highlights
Introduction aClinical and public health context of vaccination2) Vaccines and risk groups a
Ensuring that physicians in all relevant fields have the background vaccine knowledge and the counselling skills to engage in vaccine-hesitancy counselling and safe vaccine delivery is critically important to addressing the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy. This is especially true in the province of Ontario, where family physicians and pediatricians play a key role in ensuring children and adults receive their routine immunizations, including the flu vaccine [7]
Our study population was residents at University of Toronto (UT) in nine medical specialties with immunization listed in their training objectives: family medicine, public health and preventive medicine, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, adult infectious diseases, pediatric infectious diseases and medical microbiology to participate in an immunization education workshop
Summary
Introduction aClinical and public health context of vaccination2) Vaccines and risk groups a. Vaccination is the most cost-effective medical intervention known to prevent morbidity and mortality. Vaccination is the most cost-effective medical intervention known to prevent morbidity and mortality in both individuals and populations [1]. Ensuring that physicians in all relevant fields have the background vaccine knowledge and the counselling skills to engage in vaccine-hesitancy counselling and safe vaccine delivery is critically important to addressing the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy. This is especially true in the province of Ontario, where family physicians and pediatricians play a key role in ensuring children and adults receive their routine immunizations, including the flu vaccine [7]
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