Utility of a Novel Trainee-Level Hematology/Oncology Podcast in Graduate Medical Education: a Pilot Study

Asynchronous learning continues to gain popularity in medical education. One medium to facilitate asynchronous learning is the podcast. Currently, there are a limited number of hematology/oncology (H/O) podcasts geared towards residents and fellows (“trainees”). To address this need, we created a series of podcasts covering fundamental H/O topics for H/O fellows and internal medicine residents rotating on H/O services. We evaluate the effectiveness of this approach in this pilot study. Between September 2022 and February 2023, residents received recommended episodes via email prior to their rotation. Following their rotation, they received a survey. H/O fellows were encouraged to listen to any available episodes during the study period, after which they also received a survey. The survey collected baseline user information and included a 5-point Likert scale to determine if the podcast episodes were effective educational tools. Summary description was performed by the authors. In total 7 internal medicine residents (27 eligible) and 13 H/O fellows (18 eligible) completed the survey, for a total group of 20 respondents. The trainees found that the podcast helped with inpatient and outpatient management, was clinically relevant, and helped with clinical decision-making. They also agreed that the fundamentals of H/O are amenable to the podcast platform and are likely to continue to use podcasts as learning tools in H/O. This pilot study suggests that podcasts are an effective supplemental learning tool for the fundamentals of H/O in graduate medical education. The use of podcasts as educational tools should be encouraged for trainees.