A national survey of emergency medicine program directors (N=99) revealed that 96% were comfortable with residents' abilities to read ECGs by their third year of residency.
Cross-Sectional (n=99)
Yes
Emergency medicine residency programs utilize a variety of methods, primarily clinical observation and lectures, to teach and assess ECG interpretation, leading to high program director confidence in resident competency.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the type of electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation instruction in emergency medicine (EM) residency programs, the use and perceived value of teaching modalities and resources, and the methods used to assess competency of ECG interpretation. METHODS: An interactive survey instrument was posted on the Internet using SurveySuite, Inc., software and e-mailed to program directors (PDs) of all 125 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved U.S. EM residency programs. Responses are reported in total numbers and percentages. RESULTS: Ninety-nine of 125 PDs completed the online survey (response rate, 79.2%). Emergency department instruction (99%), case-based lectures (98%), and didactic lectures (98%) were most commonly used to teach interpretation of ECGs, followed by computer-based instruction (34%) and ECG laboratory (12%). The majority of programs (53%) spent more than eight hours on formal ECG lectures per year, while 11% spent less than three hours. Observation during clinical time (99%), lecture time (76%), and hypothetical cases (57%) were the most common ways to determine competency in reading ECGs, while clinical observation and hypothetical cases were perceived as the most valuable. The most commonly used resource was personal or departmental ECG files (91%), and this had the highest perceived value. The majority of PDs were comfortable with residents' abilities to read ECGs by the third year (96%) and fourth year (91%) of residency. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that EM PDs believe that EM residency is adequately preparing graduates to interpret ECGs. This goal is achieved through a variety of methods.
Pines et al. (Wed,) conducted a cross-sectional in ECG interpretation training in Emergency Medicine (n=99). Survey of ECG interpretation training methods was evaluated on Type of ECG interpretation instruction and competency assessment methods. A national survey of emergency medicine program directors (N=99) revealed that 96% were comfortable with residents' abilities to read ECGs by their third year of residency.