Educate, innovate.
Infectious Diseases (ID) diagnoses are commonly seen in both inpatient and outpatient settings and across a variety of disciplines; unfortunately, there is wide variability in ID education across physician training programs in the United States.
Resources directed toward early learners have the potential to pay significant dividends because they can instill the correct foundational knowledge and attitudes early.
Medical trainees want more ID teaching!
One survey study* of 317 MS4s at University of Miami, the Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Washington found that:
92% of respondents agreed that strong knowledge of antimicrobials is important in their careers.
90% said that they would like more education on appropriate use of antimicrobials--the average correct knowledge score (of 11 items) was only 51%.
Only 15% had completed a clinical infectious diseases rotation during medical school (those who had done so rated the quality of their antimicrobial education significantly higher).
Only one-third of respondents perceived their preparedness to be adequate in fundamental principles of antimicrobial use.
Thus, IDmodules.org was born! With initial funding from the University of California, Irvine (we were awarded the inaugural Trainee Innovations Grant in 2019) we’ve created a website to house a well-rounded Infectious Disease curriculum, consisting of high yield, light-hearted case-based modules to teach medical residents core ID topics. All for free.
*Abbo et al, Medical Students’ Perceptions and Knowledge About Antimicrobial Stewardship: How Are We Educating Our Future Prescribers?, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 57, Issue 5, 1 September 2013, Pages 631–638, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cit370