Summary
Background
A large proportion of time during pediatric urology fellowship training is focused
on surgical skill development. While fellows begin their fellowship training with
some knowledge of pediatric urology from residency, they rely on self-directed learning
to expand their knowledge base.
Objective
To assess how pediatric urology fellows learn about their field outside of direct
patient care experiences. Additionally, we were interested in how the pandemic affected
fellows self-directed learning.
Methods
First and second year pediatric urology fellows at Accreditation Council of Graduate
Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited programs were asked to participate in the study.
Individual virtual interviews were conducted and transcribed. Each transcript was
coded shortly after transcription. Constructivist grounded theory was used in the
data collection and analysis. As interviews progressed, a constant comparative analysis
was used iteratively to generate themes.
Results
A convenience sample of thirteen fellows from programs across the U.S. agreed to participate;
eight were male and five were female. The following four themes emerged from the interviews:
most learning in fellowship is self-directed, fellows are not the target audience
for didactics, fellows have little independent study time, and there is a lack of
organization and guidance for formal didactics (Summary Table). Additionally, we found
that teleconferences were used for the majority of teaching after the start of the
coronavirus pandemic.
Conclusion
Summary TableEmerging themes about fellow didactics
| Themes | Sub-Themes |
|---|---|
| Self-Directed learning | Seek out research articles All fellows use outside sources for learning Seek knowledge outside of own institution Fellows are not aware of their own knowledge gaps |
| Little Independent Study Time | Clinical Responsibilities and time on service leave little time to study Service over education Running conferences and organizing education felt to be more of a burden than educational More study time on research year vs. clinical year |
| Lack of Organization | No Formal Curricula from year to year Fellows have little orientation for how to run conferences at new institution Schedule is constantly changing around attending clinical responsibilities Fellows felt better about didactics when they could tailor topics |
| Fellows not the target audience | Much of formal “didactics” is geared towards residents. Some programs are more fellow-oriented, others are resident-oriented Lectures may be repeated each time new residents come on service |
| Majority of teaching post-pandemic is performed via teleconference | Better attendance overall There is less overall engagement on Zoom (turning off cameras, not answering questions) Less discussion amongst attendings and fellows on Zoom, which was previously felt to be best learning environment Video Lectures and conferences from other institutions have been found to be very helpful |
Keywords
Abbreviations:
ACGME (Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education), SDT (Self-Determination Theory), UCSF (University of California–San Francisco)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 10, 2022
Accepted:
July 20,
2022
Received in revised form:
June 16,
2022
Received:
December 9,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Journal of Pediatric Urology Company. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Commentary to how do pediatric urology fellows learn outside of direct patient care: A qualitative studyJournal of Pediatric UrologyVol. 18Issue 6
- PreviewGrant et al. have conducted a qualitative study assessing how pediatric urology fellows learn outside of direct patient care experiences [1]. Furthermore, they explore how fellows learn in the pandemic era. This study brings attention to several important issues in pediatric urology fellow education, namely self-directed learning, focus on the fellow as a learner, need for independent study time, and need for guidance and structure in curriculum development.
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