J Educ Eval Health Prof.  2016;13:36. 10.3352/jeehp.2016.13.36.

Text messaging versus email for emergency medicine residents’ knowledge retention: a pilot comparison in the United States

• Hoonpongsimanont W
• Kulkarni M
• Tomas-Domingo P
• Anderson C
• McCormack
• Tu K
• Chakravarthy B
• Lotfipour

• KMID: 2413785
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2016.13.36

Abstract

We evaluated the effectiveness of text messaging versus email, as a delivery method to enhance knowledge retention of emergency medicine (EM) content in EM residents. We performed a multi-centered, prospective, randomized study consisting of postgraduate year (PGY) 1 to PGY 3 & 4 residents in three United States EM residency programs in 2014. Fifty eight residents were randomized into one delivery group: text message or email. Participants completed a 40 question pre- and post-intervention exam. Primary outcomes were the means of pre- and post-intervention exam score differences. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-test, and multiple linear regressions. No significant difference was found between the primary outcomes of the two groups (P=0.51). PGY 2 status had a significant negative effect (P=0.01) on predicted exam score difference. Neither delivery method enhanced resident knowledge retention. Further research on implementation of mobile technology in residency education is required.

Keyword

Electronic mail; Emergency medicine; Internship and residency; Text messaging; United States

MeSH Terms

Education
Electronic Mail*
Emergencies*
Emergency Medicine*
Internship and Residency
Linear Models
Methods
Prospective Studies
Text Messaging*
United States*

Reference

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