Abstracts

Rationale: Residents in neurology training programs are expected to become proficient in the use and interpretation of electroencephalography (EEG) as witnessed by the ACGME resident milestones in neurology. Our EEG module was created to better serve the education needs of the residents at our institution.

Methods: Residents were given a structured didactic and clinical experience over the course of a one- to two-week EEG rotation during their first and second year of neurology training. The didactic component consisted of 12 e-modules spanning a range of basic concepts in EEG; collected guidelines including the ACNS 2021 Standardized Critical Care EEG terminology and institutional epilepsy monitoring unit and status epilepticus guidelines; and reference textbooks with required reading based on year in training.

The clinical component consisted of escalating responsibilities depending on resident year in training. Residents in their first year of neurology training were asked to complete at least 2 EEG reports per day. This increased to 3 reports per day for the subsequent year in training. An EEG log was maintained and reviewed daily to ensure productivity.

Results of the intervention were assessed by pre- and post-course evaluations and pre- and post-assessment tests. The pre- and post-evaluations consisted of 5 questions rating the resident’s comfort with aspects of EEG interpretation. Residents also answered 6 narrative questions to elicit feedback on the course. The pre- and post-assessments consisted of 30 questions covering the range of EEG concepts from the didactic course.

Results: 11 residents completed the EEG rotation. 6 residents completed the pre- and post-course evaluation. The average confidence level before the course on a 1 to 5 scale over 5 questions was 10.1; this increased to 19.2 on the post-course evaluation for a difference of 9 (P=0.0004).

8 residents completed the course pre-assessment and 4 residents completed the post-assessment. The average correct for all pre-assessments was 0.58 (SD 0.17). The average of only complete sets of pre- and post-assessment pairs was 0.66 (SD 0.19). The average of all post-assessments was 0.78 (SD 0.11). The difference between complete pre- and post-assessment sets was 0.13 (P=0.31).

Conclusions: Residents taking the EEG module reported improved confidence with electroencephalography; they achieved a stronger theoretical training in EEG concepts and a demonstrated practical capability, witnessed by an EEG log of completed reports. The results of the pre- and post-course evaluation showed a statistically significant improvement in self-assessment. The results of the pre- and post-assessment tests were not statistically significant, but did show a trend toward higher average score. The limitation of the assessment was low resident participation in the post-assessment which lowered the quality of the quantitative assessment of the module.

Funding: Please list any funding that was received in support of this abstract.: None.