Online research article discussion board to increase knowledge translation during emergency medicine residency

• Main Authors: Stoneking LR, Grall KH, Min AA, Panchal AR
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2013-01-01
• Series: Advances in Medical Education and Practice
• Online Access: http://www.dovepress.com/online-research-article-discussion-board-to-increase-knowledge-transla-a12076

Lisa R Stoneking, Kristi H Grall, Alice A Min, Ashish R PanchalDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USABackground: Many clinicians have difficulties reading current best practice journal articles on a regular basis. Discussion boards are one method of online asynchronous learning that facilitates active learning and participation. We hypothesized that an online repository of best practice articles with a discussion board would increase journal article reading by emergency medicine residents.Methods: Participants answered three questions weekly on a discussion board: What question does this study address? What does this study add to our knowledge? How might this change clinical practice? A survey regarding perceived barriers to participating was then distributed.Results: Most participants completed an article summary once or twice in total (23/32, 71.9%). Only three were involved most weeks (3/32, 9.4%) whereas 5/32 (15.6%) participated monthly. The most common barriers were lack of time (20/32, 62.5%), difficulty logging on (7/32, 21.9%), and forgetting (6/32, 18.8%).Conclusion: Although subjects were provided weekly with an article link, email, and feedback, journal article reading frequency did not increase.Keywords: online research, discussion board, knowledge translation, emergency medicine residency