Resident and attending physician attitudes regarding an audience response system

Abstract

Purpose: Audience response system (ARS) technology is increasingly being incorporated into radiology education. The aim of this study was to gauge resident and attending physician attitudes regarding the use of an ARS in resident conferences.

Methods: An anonymous survey was sent to 38 residents and 57 attending physicians to gauge their attitudes regarding the use of an ARS in resident lectures using a 5-point, Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree).

Results: A total of 30 of 38 residents (78.9%) and 26 of 57 attending radiologists (45.6%) responded. Residents viewed the incorporation of an ARS into lectures positively, replying that they learned better from lectures incorporating an ARS (mean, 4.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.74-4.32), felt more comfortable answering questions using it (mean, 4.53; 95% CI, 4.25-4.81), and were more likely to attend a lecture that incorporated its use (mean, 3.70; 95% CI, 3.37-4.03). The use of an ARS by attending physicians was limited (9 of 26 [34.6%]), with respondents citing a lack of adequate training. Those attending physicians who used it viewed the system positively, stating that residents were more engaged when they used an ARS (mean, 4.33; 95% CI, 3.87-4.79). An ARS somewhat helped the faculty members gauge resident understanding of the lecture material (mean, 3.67; 95% CI, 2.95-4.40) and prepare future lectures (mean, 3.33; 95% CI 2.68-3.98).

Conclusions: Both residents and attending physicians favorably view audience response technology as a means to enhance education in didactic and case-based settings. Increased training on how to incorporate its use into teaching may drive additional utilization.