ECG Bootcamp – A Novel Emergency Medicine Small Group Session
Correspondence should be addressed to Kimberly Sokol, MD, MS, MACM at kimberly.sokol@vituity.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5070/M5.52155
ABSTRACT:
Audience: The target audience for this small group session is post-graduate year (PGY) 1-4 emergency medicine (EM) residents and medical students.
Introduction: An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a crucial diagnostic tool in emergency medicine.1 Accurate ECGinterpretation by emergency physicians is crucial for diagnosing life-threatening conditions, making it essential for EM residents’ training. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) lists ECG interpretation as a vital patient care milestone for residency graduation.2 Despite this, research suggests that few EM programs have standardized ECG curricula or test for ECG interpretation competency.3 To address this gap, we created the “ECGBootcamp,” which uses gamification to engage learners in key ECG concepts through group learning.
Educational Objectives: By the end of this group exercise, learners will be able to: 1) Recognize an emergent ECG that needs action immediately, 2) Demonstrate an understanding of normal vs abnormal pediatric ECGs, 3) Identify ECGmanifestations of toxicologic conditions, 4) Describe the key characteristics of an ECG in a patient with a pacemaker and problems thereof, 5) Compare and contrast common ECG findings in patients with certain congenital/hereditary cardiac conditions, 6) Manage a patient presenting in extremis with torsades de pointes in the emergency department.
Educational Methods: The “ECG Bootcamp” uses gamification, which incorporates game-design elements into educational activities to enhance learner engagement and motivation. This method was chosen to address the challenge of standardized ECG training in emergency medicine and the increasing use of gamification in graduate medical education.4-6 EM residency programs have implemented gamified curricula using quizzes, hands-on games, competitions, and longitudinal point-based games.7-8 By shifting from a passive lecture-based learning to a competitive format, the curriculum uses interactive learning to improve knowledge retention and participant satisfaction.6,9
Small group sessions were selected to ensure an intimate learning environment with a high faculty to student ratio. This setting allows for tailored instruction and immediate feedback, both of which are important for mastering ECG interpretation.
The bootcamp consists of six interactive stations, including competitive games and a simulation case. These stations are formulated to expose learners to important ECG concepts through different modalities, such as trivia and association games, while incorporating spaced learning to solidify understanding of cardiac pathology.
Research Methods: The participants were provided with an anonymous online survey providing feedback regarding the quality of the educational content and the efficacy of the delivery method. The feedback had both a quantitative and qualitative component. The participants gave a rating between 1–10 out of 10, 1/10 being not effective learning, 10/10 being the most effective learning. In addition, they were given the option to leave comments.
Results: A post-participation survey was provided to 46 participants, of which there were 18 respondents. We recognize that this is low and attribute this to the fact that the survey was sent out after the actual activity rather than included as part of the activity. One hundred percent of respondents rated both the small group game sessions and the simulation case a 10 out of 10 scale. Anonymous feedback comments from respondents were also provided.
Discussion: The ECG Bootcamp serves as an effective model that addresses the gap in standardized ECG interpretation within emergency medicine residency programs. By integrating gamification with spaced repetition,10-11 this curriculum enhances learner engagement and aids in the solidification of cardiac pathology that often proves challenging in a traditional lecture format. Survey results indicated that the interactive, gamified nature of the session successfully meets the educational needs for learners across all levels of training.
Overall, this session provides a reproducible blueprint for residency programs aiming to improve their cardiovascular curriculum. Beyond ECG interpretation, the framework of rotating through gamified stations and simulations can be adapted to other clinical topics to stimulate a more dynamic and retentive learning environment in post-graduate medical education.
Topics: Small groups, electrocardiogram (ECG), gamification, medical education.
