Abstract
BackgroundCommunity learning and e-mentoring, learning methods used in higher education, are not used to any extent in residency education. Yet both have the potential to enhance resident learning and, in the case of community learning, introduce residents to basic lifelong learning skills. We set out to determine whether residents participating in an Internet based e-mentoring program would, with appropriate facilitation, form a community of learners (CoL) and hold regular community meetings. We also determined resident and faculty perceptions of CoL and Internet sessions as effective learning experiences.MethodsA six-month e-mentoring pilot was offered to 10 Radiology residents in the Aga Khan University Postgraduate Medical Education Program in Nairobi, Kenya (AKUHN) with a Professor of Radiology, located at University of Virginia, USA, acting as the e-mentor. Monthly Internet case-based teaching sessions were facilitated by the e-mentor. In addition, residents were coached by a community facilitator to form CoL and collectively work through clinical cases at weekly face-to-face CoL sessions.Event logs described observed resident activity at CoL sessions; exit survey and interviews were used to elicit perceptions of CoL and Internet sessions as effective learning experiences.ResultsResident adoption of CoL behaviors was observed, including self-regulation, peer mentoring and collaborative problem solving. Analysis revealed high resident enthusiasm and value for CoL. Surveys and interviews indicated high levels of acceptance of Internet learning experiences, although there was room for improvement in audio-visual transmission technologies. Faculty indicated there was a need for a larger multi-specialty study.ConclusionsThe pilot demonstrated resident acceptance of community building and collaborative learning as valued learning experiences, addressing one barrier to its formal adoption in residency education curricula. It also highlighted the potential of e-mentoring as a means of expanding faculty and teaching materials in residency programs in developing countries.
Highlights
Community learning and e-mentoring, learning methods used in higher education, are not used to any extent in residency education
All 10 residents in AKUHN Radiology program volunteered for the e-mentoring pilot and signed consent forms: 7 residents (2 in 2nd and 3rd years, respectively, and 3 in 1st year) participated from October 2007 to April, 2008
Residents rapidly adopted community of learners (CoL) behaviors as described by Wenger et al, albeit with significant coaching by the pilot’s community facilitator [3]. They collectively decided the format and facilitation of meetings; demonstrated willingness to learn from and mentor each other and collaboratively solve clinical problems. While these behaviors may be implicitly acquired by some residents in traditional residency programs who form natural CoLs with trusted colleagues, our experience supports Dornan [4] and Mennin [5] who suggest that formal education sessions be expanded to include CoL in which learning to practice is viewed as a social phenomenon and emerges through interactivity and self organization
Summary
Community learning and e-mentoring, learning methods used in higher education, are not used to any extent in residency education. Both have the potential to enhance resident learning and, in the case of community learning, introduce residents to basic lifelong learning skills. We set out to determine whether residents participating in an Internet based e-mentoring program would, with appropriate facilitation, form a community of learners (CoL) and hold regular community meetings. E-mentoring has the potential to Context A six-month pilot project was established with author W.E.B., Professor of Radiology, University of Virginia, USA, acting as e-mentor to Radiology residents in the Aga Khan University Postgraduate Medical Education Program in Nairobi, Kenya (AKUHN). The e-mentor provided 6 two-hour case-based online teaching sessions between October 2007 and April 2008 to residents located in Nairobi, Kenya
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