Abstract Background Suboptimal use of inhalers contributes significantly to poor symptom control in chronic respiratory conditions such as COPD and asthma. Internal medicine residents often feel underprepared to prescribe appropriate inhalers or educate patients on correct usage. Smart Statement This quality improvement (QI) initiative aimed to significantly improve internal medicine residents’ confidence in prescribing, assessing use, and educating patients on pulmonary inhalers for COPD and asthma over the course of 3 months through structured education sessions and the use of practical clinical tools. Methods A pre- and post-intervention survey was conducted among internal medicine residents at a community-based academic residency program. Thirteen of sixteen residents completed a baseline survey assessing confidence across ten domains, including inhaler selection, patient instruction, and identification of adherence issues. Over the following three months, residents participated in targeted educational interventions, including didactic lectures, hands-on demonstrations with MDIs, DPIs, and SMIs, distribution of pocket reference guides, and instructional videos. Fifteen of sixteen residents completed the post-survey following the three-month intervention period. Results Residents reported improved confidence across all ten domains. The percentage reporting “Good” or “Very Good” confidence increased from 69% to 87% for prescribing inhalers, 62% to 83% for teaching inhaler technique, 54% to 67% for understanding differences between devices, and 46% to 67% for identifying nonadherence. Most domains showed an average increase of 0.8-1.2 points on a 4-point Likert scale. Uncertainty around assessing inhaler nonadherence remained an area for further improvement. Conclusions A multi-modal, longitudinal educational intervention over three months significantly improved internal medicine residents’ confidence in prescribing and teaching inhaler use. The combination of didactics, practical exposure, and reference tools proved effective. Future efforts will focus on reinforcing inhaler technique teaching through onboarding modules and collaboration with respiratory therapists. This abstract is funded by: NA
Lohana et al. (Fri,) studied this question.