PEARLs of Wisdom: Impact of a New Block Conference on Pediatrics Resident Attendance, Satisfaction, and Learning.

BACKGROUND: Resident attendance and participation at didactic conferences is often limited owing to time demands. In 2010, University of Wisconsin-Madison pediatrics residency eliminated all noon conferences and implemented a new block format, PEARL (Pediatric Education and Active Resident Learning).
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess whether changes in a conference structure improved resident attendance, distractibility, satisfaction, perception of clinical relevance, and connection.
METHODS: Pediatrics residents were surveyed to compare experiences in 2 different conference structures: a traditional noon conference and an interactive case-based PEARL conference. Pediatrics residents from the 2008-2010 classes were surveyed about noon conference experiences and 2009-2011 classes were surveyed about PEARL conference experiences.
RESULTS: Participants included 32 residents in the 2010 presurvey and 36 in the 2011 postsurvey. All measures of attendance, distractibility, and satisfaction showed positive changes. For example, the average proportion of conferences attended was 73% with noon conferences and 98% with PEARL (P  =  .001). However, measures of perceived clinical relevance and resident participation did not change significantly. For example, on average 47% of residents reported contributing comments in a noon conference, whereas 56% of residents reported contributing in a block conference (P  =  .199).
CONCLUSIONS: PEARL conference significantly improved resident attendance, lowered distractibility, and improved resident satisfaction. However, these structural changes did not lead to changes in perceived clinical relevance of information learned or resident participation. Further content changes or faculty teaching strategies should be considered.