No abstract

Training programs, in industry, are a common way to increase awareness and change the behavior of individuals. The most popular way to determine the effectiveness of the training on learning outcomes is to administer assessments with Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) to the participants, despite the fact that in this type of assessment it is difficult to separate true learning from guessing. This study specifically aims to quantify the effect of the inclusion of the ‘I don’t know’ (IDK) option on learning outcomes in a pre-/post-test assessment construct by introducing a ‘Control Question’ (CQ). The analysis was performed on training conducted for 1,474 participants. Results show a statistically significant reduction in the usage of the IDK option in the post-test assessment as compared to the pre-test assessment for all questions including the Control Question. This illustrates that participants are learning concepts taught in the training sessions but are also prone to guess more in the post-test assessment as compared to the pre-test assessment.

Background: We undertook this study to investigate the outcomes of surgical treatment for acute carpal tunnel syndrome following our protocol for concurrent nerve decompression and skeletal stabilization for bony wrist trauma to be undertaken within 48 hours. Methods: We identified all patients treated at our trauma center following this protocol between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2019. All patients were clinically reviewed at least 12 months after surgery and assessed using the Brief Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire, the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire, and sensory assessment with Semmes-Weinstein monofilament testing. Results: The study group was made up of 35 patients. Thirty-three patients were treated within 36 hours. Patients treated with our unit protocol for early surgery comprising nerve decompression and bony stabilization within 36 hours report excellent outcomes at medium term follow-up. Conclusions: We propose that nerve decompression and bony surgical stabilization should be undertaken as soon as practically possible once the diagnosis is made. This is emergent treatment to protect and preserve nerve function. In our experience, the vast majority of patients were treated within 24 hours; however, where a short period of observation was required, excellent results were generally achieved when treatment was completed within 36 hours.

Safety training programs are a popular method, in industry globally, to increase awareness of risks to employees and employers and plays a critical part in reducing safety incidents. The most frequently used method to assess the effectiveness of the training is to have the participants answer Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) and True/False (T/F) questions after the training. The metrics used to report the outcome of the assessments have drawbacks that make it difficult for the trainer and organization to easily identify the concepts that need more focus and those that do not. The goal of this research study is to compare how the methods used to measure training effectiveness of concepts in Level 2 post training assessment differ in how they assess training effectiveness using actual training results. Pre- and Post-training assessments were administered to the participants in 3 different utility industries and were analyzed for training effectiveness using the traditional metrics as well as using ATEAL method. The results were then compared and detailed recommendations of the best and least learned concepts by industry are presented based on these comparative analyses. The ATEAL method is further used to quantify the opportunities for improvement in the training programs based on the participant prior knowledge and any negative training impact observed. Results of the comparison of the various methods show that the proposed ATEAL method provides a quick, accurate and easy way to assesses the effectiveness of the training of concepts and the method identified that for 40% of the concepts trained a higher percentage of participants exhibited more prior knowledge than positive learning and for 6% of the concepts a higher percentage exhibited negative training. These results also provide a directional guide on the improvements that can be made to improve the training effectiveness of the programs. Additionally, it also shows that the ATEAL method can be used in any learning environment where there is a pre-/post-test evaluation of the change and is not limited in application to MCQ and T/F questions.