Qualitative and quantitative analysis of a new educational implement for the newborn nursery

Abstract

Travis Billingsley, Judith Rowen, Cara Geary

In this era of duty hour restrictions time is premium. Many programs are utilizing new and innovative ways to meet the educational demands of training with less direct time to do so. The authors wanted to develop an online educational supplement, and test its effectiveness in learners in the newborn nursery. Six educational modules were created for the learners (Pediatric and Family Medicine residents, and Senior Medical students) to augment their nursery education. Two tests were created to assess learner�??s acquisition of the modules content. One test was given prior to the start of the modules, and the second test given after completion of both the modules and rotation. Residents who completed the rotation prior to the start of the study were tested for comparison purposes. Seventy-six learners participated. Test level statistics, (KR-20, point biserial, Cohen D) were utilized to assess the tests�?? reliability, performance between all users, and effect size between groups. Participants rated the modules 9 of 10 on educational value. Time to completion averaged from 1 to 3 hours. Learners showed improvement from 0.8 to 3.5 standard deviations. KR-20 is 0.73 and 0.58, and average point biserial was 0.3 and 0.2 for Test A and Test B. Two-tailed t-test analysis showed that the tests were equally challenging. The modules were easily integrated, and participants enjoyed the use of the modules. All learners showed improvement, and the AI�??s acquired a knowledge base in newborn care equal to that of senior residents who completed the old educational model. The online educational supplement was easy to implement, and showed benefit to the learners. The use of the modules will continue with future groups, and given their success in the newborn nursery will be expanded into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and the Pediatric Inpatient Unit