THU001 Novel Interactive Text-messaging Curriculum For Endocrinology Board Review

Abstract

Abstract Disclosure: P. Majety: None. A. Ajayi: None. A. Modest: None. M. Vamvini: Grant Recipient; Self; MV was supported by F32-DK126432, and Joslin Diabetes Center P&F. J. Freed: None. Background: The ABIM certification exam is one of the measures to ensure that physicians have the clinical skills for good care delivery. The five-year average pass rate for the ABIM Endocrinology & Metabolism subspecialty exam is 86%, relatively lower when compared to other subspecialties. The pass rate for first time test takers significantly decreased from a usual range of 84-91% over 2017-2020 to a nadir of 74% in 2021 compared to a mean of 84% for other medicine subspecialties. This represents the lowest pass rate in 2021 for any internal medicine subspecialty exam. Objectives: The primary purpose of our study was to assess the feasibility of a unique text messaging curriculum for endocrinology fellows and its utility in improving their knowledge. We also assessed their study habits and resources available to them for ABIM subspecialty exam preparation. Methods: In 2021, endocrinology fellows from 51 programs across the country were invited to participate in our curriculum. They completed a pre-test, joined a texting group via Remind application and received 1 multiple choice question daily (total n = 78). At the end of curriculum, fellows received a post-test questionnaire, and a feedback survey. After 15 weeks, they completed a post-test and survey. Paired results from pre- and post-test were compared. Results: A total of 89 fellows from 27 programs responded. Of these, 82 fellows, predominantly females (n=60; 73%), filled out the pre-test. On an average, 42 fellows (SD = 12) responded to the questions daily. Thirty fellows completed the post-test. The median number of correct responses on the pre-test was 5 (IQR 3-6), compared to 8 (IQR 6-9) in the post-test. There was a significant improvement (p-value <0.0001) in fellows’ performance in the post-test when compared with the pre-test following our intervention.Final feedback survey was filled out by 33 of them. Ninety-seven percent responded that they use question banks as a resource for exam preparation followed by PowerPoint presentations (52%), journals (48%), online videos (39%), textbooks (33%) and lecture notes (33%). 23 fellows (70%) preferred mobile friendly question bank applications; 5 fellows (15%) preferred online question banks available through company websites only. None of them preferred paper-based question banks.Nineteen of the 33 fellows (58%) found the curriculum very useful. 17 fellows (52%) said it served as a discussion tool sometimes, while 9 fellows (27%) said they used it as a discussion tool often. Thirty two out of 33 fellows (97%) responded that they would like to continue to receive a question daily for the rest of their fellowship. Conclusions: Text-messaging based curriculum for exam preparation is feasible and can improve test performance. Fellows find receiving a daily high yield multiple choice question via text-message as a useful tool for exam preparation. Presentation: Thursday, June 15, 2023