A personalized smartphone app for a surgery residency: Is it useful?

Abstract

Background: Access to schedules, protocols, and learning materials needs to be convenient and fast. Smartphones have become the default pathway for information access. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of a smartphone application (app) on residency workflow and education.

Methods: After app development, a survey was conducted before and after implementation using Likert scales.Student's t-test was used for analysis.

Results: Pre-app, 76 ​% of faculty did not know the resident on call compared to 50 ​% post implementation (p ​< ​0.01). Pre-app, management algorithms required internet search; post-app no searching was required (p ​< ​0.05). Post-app, a printed call schedule became unnecessary and hospital operator calls decreased from daily to occasionally for residents and almost never for faculty (p ​< ​0.01).

Conclusions: A smartphone application has proven to be beneficial for consolidating resources and workflow to improve resident training and patient care.