Enhancing hematology & oncology (H/O) knowledge for internal medicine residents: A Dell Med guide.

Abstract

e21010 Background: Internal medicine residency is a time of immense educational growth, especially relating to H/O. At Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin (Dell Med), incoming residents are provided with a handbook tailored to help navigate their overnight call shifts, however, similar resources for H/O are lacking. This gap leaves residents less prepared to manage H/O cases confidently. To address this, we aim to provide a site-specific guide to enhance H/O knowledge and confidence among our internal medicine residents. Methods: We administered a survey to internal medicine residents (n=68) at Dell Med to assess their strengths and weaknesses in evaluating and managing H/O patients during inpatient service rotations. Survey responses were captured on a five-point confidence scale: not confident, slightly confident, somewhat confident, fairly confident, and completely confident, with one additional open-ended question to allow for qualitative feedback. Based on the results, we designed a guide to provide residents with the tools to properly evaluate, diagnose, and treat H/O patients. A follow-up survey will be conducted three months post-implementation to evaluate the gained knowledge and confidence of the internal medicine residents after utilizing the guide. Results: Thirty-six residents completed the survey before utilizing the guide (53% response rate). Respondents were well distributed (36% PGY1, 36% PGY2, 25% PGY3, 1% PGY4). The residents expressed the highest confidence (includes fairly confident and completely confident) in initiating a new H/O consult (72%), working up anemia (56%), and recognizing H/O emergencies (25%). Conversely, residents were least confident (includes not confident and slightly confident) in recognizing common side effects of chemotherapy and immunotherapy (78%), managing solid tumor and hematologic malignancies (67%), and managing a sickle cell crisis (67%). A recurring concern noted during qualitative assessment was managing complications and adverse effects of cancer treatment (25%) when admitting H/O patients. Conclusions: Our survey highlights significant opportunities for growth in H/O knowledge and confidence among internal medicine residents. The Dell Med H/O Guide is designed to address these gaps through targeted education and practical tools. We anticipate that the post-implementation survey will demonstrate measurable improvements in confidence and knowledge, supporting the implementation of this resource in training. By identifying key areas of strengths and weaknesses, the guide serves as a valuable tool for curriculum enhancements within the program. Future iterations of the guide will incorporate resident feedback along with ensuring the resource remains relevant while impacting the advancement of H/O education within our residency program. *Matthew Barke, MD and Sujata Ojha, MD contributed equally to this work.