BackgroundThe teaching modality of “flipping the classroom” has garnered recent attention in medical education. In this model, the lecture and homework components are reversed. The flipped classroom lends itself to more interaction in “class” and theoretically improved clinical decision-making. Data is lacking for this model for students in emergency medicine clerkships. We trialed the flipped classroom in our fourth-year student clerkship. Our aim was to learn student and faculty facilitator perceptions of the experience, as it has not been done previously in this setting. We evaluated this in two ways: (1) participant perception of the experience and (2) facilitator (EM physician educator) perception of student preparation, participation, and knowledge synthesis.MethodsWith permission from its creators, we utilized an online video series derived from the Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine. Students were provided the link to these 1 week prior to the classroom experience as the “homework.” We developed patient cases generated from the videos that we discussed during class in small-group format. Afterward, students were surveyed about the experience using four-point Likert items and free-text comments and also were evaluated by the facilitator on a nine-point scale.ResultsForty-six clerkship students participated. Students deemed the online modules useful at 2.9 (95 % CI 2.7–3.2). Further, they reported the in-class discussion to be of high value at 3.9 (95 % CI 3.8–4.0), much preferred the flipped classroom to traditional lecturing at 3.8 (95 % CI 3.6–3.9), and rated the overall experience highly at 3.8 (95 % CI 3.7–3.9). Based on preparation, participation, and knowledge synthesis, the facilitator judged participants favorably at 7.4 (95 % CI 7.0–7.8). Students commented that the interactivity, discussion, and medical decision-making were advantages of this format.ConclusionsStudents found high value in the flipped classroom and prefer it to traditional lecturing, citing interactivity and discussion as the main reasons. The facilitator also viewed that the students were not only well prepared for the flipped classroom but that they also actively participated in and synthesized knowledge adequately during this experience. This study supports the use of the flipped classroom for EM clerkship students as a valuable, preferable teaching technique.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12245-016-0123-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundAsynchronous learning is gaining popularity. Data are limited regarding this learning method in medical students rotating in emergency medicine (EM). In EM, faculty time is limited to give in-person lectures. The authors sought to create an online curriculum that students could utilize as an additional learning modality.ObjectiveThe goal was to evaluate effectiveness, participation, and preference for this mode of learning.MethodsWe developed five online, narrated PowerPoint presentations. After orientation, access to the online curriculum was provided to the students, which they could review at their leisure.ResultsOne hundred and seven fourth-year medical students participated. They reported the curriculum to be of high quality. Pretest scores were similar for those that viewed all lectures – compliant group (CG) (9.5 [CI 4.8–14.1]) and those that did not view any – non-compliant group (NCG) (9.6 [CI 5.9–13.4]). There was no statistical significant difference in posttest scores between the groups although there was improvement overall: CG 14.6 (CI 6.9–22.1); NCG 11.4 (CI 5.7–17.1). A majority (69.2%) favored inclusion of asynchronous learning, but less than a quarter (22.4%) reported viewing all five modules and more than a third (36.4%) viewed none.ConclusionDespite student-expressed preference for an online curriculum, they used the online resource less than expected. This should give pause to educators looking to convert core EM topics to an online format. However, when high-quality online lectures are utilized as a learning tool, this study demonstrates that they had neither a positive nor a negative impact on test scores.

Almost two fifths of surveyed primary care physicians in a rural practice-based research network provide ED coverage. Based on these physicians' low levels of confidence and desire for additional training in pediatric emergencies, effective education models are needed for physicians covering the ED at their rural hospitals.

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