LIMEs and LEMONs: Critically Examining the Effect of a Blog Post on Junior Faculty Learners

Abstract

Introduction: The usage of asynchronous resources such as blogs and podcasts is pervasive in academic medicine, despite little understanding of their actual effect on learner knowledge acquisition. This study sought to examine the objective effect of a blog post on knowledge acquisition and application among junior faculty in emergency medicine (EM) via randomized controlled study. Methods: All accredited EM residency programs in the United States and Canada were contacted to identify assistant and associate program directors and medical education fellows for recruitment into this study. Upon enrollment, participants were randomized as to whether they received access to a supplemental blog post prior to listening to a podcast episode. After listening to the podcast episode, all participants completed an assessment that included a test of knowledge application and knowledge acquisition; demographic information was also obtained. Results: Ultimately, 103 participants completed the study; the study closed for enrollment in July 2019. Data were nonnormally distributed and groups were compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. There were no significant differences between the demographics of the two groups nor was there a significant difference in knowledge between the two groups. Conclusion: The addition of a supplementary blog post did not increase junior faculty knowledge of a podcast episode.