Aims: To develop and evaluate a quality improvement and adverse event awareness program for junior oncology doctors across three international sites.
Methods: A mixed methodology was used to develop and evaluate the program. The Qstream spaced learning platform was used to disseminate information to participants, as it has been demonstrated to impact on both knowledge and behaviour. Eight short case based scenarios with expert feedback were developed by a multidisciplinary advisory committee containing representatives from the international sites. The program used a gamification element where registrars across the three sites competed in a friendly competition. At the conclusion of the course impact on participant knowledge was evaluated using analysis of the metrics collected by the Qstream platform. Additionally, an online survey and semi-structured interviews were used to evaluate engagement and perceived value by participants.
Results: A total of 35 junior doctors registered to undertake the Qstream program, with 31 (88.57 %) successfully completing it. Analysis of the Qstream metrics revealed 76.57% of cases were answered correctly on first attempt. The post-program survey received 17 responses, with 76.47% indicating cases for the course were interesting and 82.35% feeling cases were relevant. Finally, 14 participants consented to participate in semi-structured interviews about the program, with feedback towards the course being generally very positive.
Conclusions: Developing effective,engaging and sustainable training for doctors is important to ensure positive patient outcomes are maintained in the hospital setting. This is of particular importance with junior doctors as they work closely with patients, and they are learning skills and behaviours which will influence their practice throughout their careers.