Peer-Led Case-Based Curriculum Enhances Learning in Pain Medicine Fellows

Overview

A novel Kern-guided, peer-led case-based curriculum was developed for pain medicine fellows from diverse residency backgrounds. Implementation showed 90% of participants reported improved knowledge retention and 80% increased respect for peers, highlighting enhanced collaborative learning.

Background

Pain medicine fellowship trainees come from varied primary specialties, resulting in heterogeneous baseline knowledge and skills. Traditional curricula risk siloing trainees by not addressing these differences or promoting peer knowledge sharing. Effective multidisciplinary education requires assessing prior knowledge and fostering collaborative learning to meet subspecialty milestones. This curriculum was designed to leverage trainees' diverse expertise through structured case-based learning and a novel note-taking system.

Data Highlights

Key Findings

• The curriculum utilized nine faculty-led, case-based modules of increasing complexity based on pain medicine competencies.
• Fellows categorized knowledge into four types: accurate prior, inaccurate prior, new from peers, and new for all trainees.
• Peer teaching was incorporated by having fellows prepare teach-back sessions on new knowledge for all.
• 90% of fellows reported better knowledge retention compared to traditional didactics.
• 80% of fellows reported increased respect for their peers after participating.
• The approach addressed heterogeneous baseline knowledge and promoted collaborative learning in a multidisciplinary subspecialty.

Clinical Implications

Incorporating structured peer-led, case-based learning with explicit recognition of prior knowledge differences can enhance knowledge retention and foster mutual respect among multidisciplinary trainees. This model may improve educational outcomes in subspecialty fellowships with heterogeneous trainee backgrounds by promoting collaborative knowledge sharing and tailored teaching.

Conclusion

A Kern-guided, peer-led case-based curriculum with a novel note-taking system effectively improved knowledge retention and peer respect among pain medicine fellows from diverse training backgrounds, supporting its use to enhance multidisciplinary subspecialty education.

References

1. Kern DE et al. 1998 -- Curriculum Development for Medical Education: A Six-Step Approach
2. ACGME Pain Medicine Milestones -- Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
3. Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 -- Pain-Related Disease Prevalence