Development of a peer teaching module on critical appraisal and evaluation among medical residents

Özden ME, Development of a Peer Teaching Module on Critical Appraisal and Evaluation Among Medical Residents, Hacettepe University Medical Faculty, Department of Public Health. Public Health Residency Thesis, Ankara, 2024. The ability of healthcare providers to access and use evidence correctly is important for the quality of the healthcare services provided (via choosing the most effective methods, avoiding medical errors). In contemporary medicine, with rapid renewal of knowledge, it is essential for physicians to have high critical appraisal (CA) skills. In this context, a standard peer teaching module on critical appraisal was developed and further evaluated with a pilot testing among medical residents to revise the final teaching module, based on participants' feedback. Within the scope of the peer teaching, a standard teaching module on CA was prepared, including topic-specific educational materials, discussion articles, and question sets. Prior to the pilot study, a public health resident (owner of the thesis) received a CA-training for 4 months to lead the education. The pilot study was conducted as a 12-week, online, peer teaching program between September 07-November 23, 2023, under the supervision of expert external reviewers. The program was announced through social media, and various medical specialty organizations and was completed with 48 participants from 19 different universities, and 9 specialties. For evaluation, initial, session-specific, and final tests for measuring knowledge, participants' self-assessment, and external auditors' scoring were used. Out of 93 participants, 48 residents completed the pilot study, with 83% (n=40) who scored >65% on the post-test and were awarded a certificate of achievement. The median scores increased 32% for knowledge, 75% for feeling sufficient in CA, and decreased 50% for experiencing stress in CA applications. In addition, 82.5% (n=33) of the participants who successfully completed the module stated that they would want to provide similar training to their peers using the standard training module. The online peer teaching of the developed CA module was shown to be successful in increasing the participants' knowledge and self-confidence in critical appraisal. Keywords: Peer teaching, Critical Appraisal, Evidence-Based Medicine