the direction of an assigned expert faculty member.
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June 2024Different programs will likely integrate the new curriculum in different ways, said Dr. Dobratz. “There are no requirements on how this curriculum should be utilized by each program. Our goal is to provide a consistent and structured curriculum that programs may employ and use in a fashion that suits their individual program.”
Dr. Merz Lind agreed.
“We know that different programs have varying support and resources available for resident teaching,” she said. “We believe that there are many ways that the OCC can be used as the central part of resident teaching, or as a supplement to programs’ existing didactic programming.”
Technology and Innovative Teaching Help Deliver the New Curriculum
The online format, available on various devices, means that leaders can respond quickly to feedback and update modules as needed, said Dr. Merz Lind.
“Our goal is to use alternative teaching methods—such as webinars, podcasts, etc.—as additional resources to complement the information provided with each module,” said Dr. Dobratz. “There are also case discussion examples provided to assist programs that are having in-person didactics that cover the associated topics.”
Collecting Feedback
Both Dr. Malekzadeh and Dr. Merz Lind emphasized how ongoing assessment and evaluation will improve and strengthen the curriculum.
“Continuous feedback from learners and faculty is imperative to the success of the program,” Dr. Malekzadeh said. “The curriculum will be an iterative process. We will actively seek feedback from all stakeholders to continuously improve access, platform, and content.”
Because the OCC is so new, “early and frequent feedback will be critical to creating a product that will be useful to trainees across healthcare settings,” said Dr. Merz Lind. “We plan to obtain feedback from a selection of programs and faculty prior to the official launch, and to collect and incorporate feedback on a continuous, formative basis for both existing modules and modules being created.”
To ensure the OCC’s effectiveness is properly evaluated, “we plan to study how the curriculum impacts outcomes, including such factors as otolaryngology training exam scores, resident well-being, and faculty satisfaction with teaching, among other” aspects, she added. “There is a huge opportunity to study how this intervention impacts otolaryngology trainee education and how this translates into measurable outcomes.”
Because the modules will be repeated every two years, such feedback “will help guide changes for the next time that topic is released,” said Dr. Dobratz. “The additional resources will be reviewed and updated as well.”
Final Thoughts
“As a program director, I am excited to be able to provide my residents with a resource that will provide a clearly defined and manageable volume of content each week that will cover 100 topics in otolaryngology,” said Dr. Dobratz. “There is such a large volume of information available to residents, including textbooks, review books, journal articles, review articles, webinars, podcasts, etc. It can be overwhelming. This curriculum will provide a clear and manageable process to gain the necessary knowledge base, as well as clearly defined and vetted resources to access more information on each topic.”
It’s hoped that the OCC will help physicians not just as residents, but beyond.
“It is our goal that this curriculum will help provide everyone an even playing field to help them be successful not just during residency and preparing for board examinations, but as practicing otolaryngologists,” said Dr. Simons. “We also anticipate that the OCC will be able to be disseminated internationally in the future, to help other countries with otolaryngology education.”
“We welcome anyone interested in learning more about the OCC to regularly visit the webpage at www.entnet.org/education/otolaryngology-core-curriculum for updated information and to reach out to our team with any questions or ideas,” said Dr Merz Lind.
Cheryl Alkon is a freelance medical writer based in Massachusetts.