Table 3 External guidance for resident SDL with supporting quotations
Step in SDL process | Type of external guidance | Participant quotationsa |
|---|---|---|
Framework | External sources helped provide a framework for learning | “For everything that’s key, they need to provide a framework and the key things that you have to know. Then provide the resources for those that are interested in going deeper” (group 4). |
Uncover knowledge gaps | External sources uncovered residents’ knowledge gaps | “I like people asking me questions, and I like people giving me a hard time because that tells me where I’m weak, and that helps me get stronger in those areas” (group 4). |
Formulate learning objectives | External sources helped identify and focus learning objectives | “Sometimes they help us identify an objective, you know, something to learn” (group 1). |
“Sometimes when you’re doing SDL and you don’t have something to guide you, it’s very easy to miss out on what is really important. … If someone with clinical experience were teaching you, they could say the main things here are X, Y, and Z, but it’s easy to miss out on those things when you’re reading on your own” (group 4). | ||
Use resources | Residents used people as a primary resource | “There are guidelines, but their 40 years of working has given them experience, and having that explanation is very helpful so we can understand from their experience what setting you would use this” (group 2). |
“Faculty can overrefer you to resources instead of just telling you theanswer” (group 3). | ||
External sources provided resources | “It can be really helpful; I’ve had consultants that say this review article is really good for this topic” (group 1). | |
External sources taught how to use resources | “It’s good to know what’s available for resource and if someone tells you that ahead of time, then you can already sort that out without having to figure it out yourself. It’s nice to have the program say, ‘These are the resources’” (group 1). | |
Apply knowledge | Residents applied knowledge outside of themselves | “The main one for me by far is having had the chance to apply this in clinical practice” (group 7). |
Evaluate learning | Residents sought feedback from multiple external sources | “We have the In-Training exams every year. They give you a percentage of how many questions you got right and wrong and you can compare yourself to your peers” (group 1). |
“The reason we are here is to get feedback to make ourselves better and I’m really appreciative of those people who take that step” (group 4). |