P-088 Assessing the Utility of a Pocket-Sized Inflammatory Bowel Disease Educational Resource Designed for Gastroenterology Fellows

Abstract

Inconsistencies in adherence to evidence-based medicine practice guidelines and quality indicators for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been a recognized limitation in the quality of care afforded to IBD patients. We designed an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) to assess many of the core competencies and to provide GI fellows with a simulated, case-based learning experience in the management of IBD patients. To supplement this experience, we provided GI fellows with an easily accessible educational resource in the form of a pocket-sized guide to highlight key evidence-based concepts in IBD education stressed in the OSCE. We assessed the utility of the NYU Gastroenterology Fellowship Training Program Pocket Guide’s usefulness, functionality, utilization, and the GI fellows’ satisfaction with this educational resource. The NYU Gastroenterology Fellowship Training Program’s OSCE course included 4 real life IBD clinical scenarios. Five New York City GI training programs and 12 second-year GI fellows participated. Following the OSCE, each fellow was given a pocket guide entitled “NYU Gastroenterology Fellowship Training Program Pocket Guide: Key Concepts in Managing Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.” In addition, the pocket guide was given to the remaining 8 NYU GI fellows who did not participate in the OSCE. The white coat pocket-sized guide is comprised of 5 front and back laminated pages, with approximately 2 pages devoted to each OSCE case. Three months following the distribution of the pocket guide, 20 fellows were invited to participate in an online survey about the pocket guide in general as an education tool, and about its specific elements, and the fellows’ answers were collected. Sixteen of 20 (80%) fellows responded to the survey. Nearly 94% (15/16) of responders found the pocket guide to be a useful supplement to their fellowship IBD training, and 100% agreed that the guide would have been a useful reference tool to have at the start of GI fellowship training. Fifty percent (8/16) of fellows reported consulting the IBD pocket guide for the care of 20% or more of their IBD patients. Nearly 70% (11/16) would have found the pocket guide most useful as a smartphone application instead of a pocket-sized laminated guide. When assessing the usefulness of the specific key concepts detailed in the guide, the majority of fellows (≥50%, ≥8/16) agreed that the information improved their care of IBD patients. This IBD pocket guide serves as an educational resource that fulfills physicians’ need to easy access to evidence-based medicine and quality indicators to help guide clinical decision-making in the care of IBD patients. The majority of GI fellow participants agreed that the care for their IBD patients improved with the use of the guide as a resource. The large majority of fellows found the guide to be a useful and vital educational tool to aid in the employment of evidence-based medicine when caring for their IBD patients. Most would have preferred a smartphone application instead of a physical pocket guide.