Natalie Erickson1, Abhilash Velega2, Avin Babakhani3, Jeffrey Strelzik4, Casey Albin5, Alison Christy6, Rohit Marawar7, Kathryn Xixis8, Jessica Goldstein9, Jaclyn Martindale10
1Wayne State University School of Medicine, 2Neurology, University of California Davis, 3Neurology, Semmelweis University, 4Children's National, 5Emory Healthcare, 6Providence Pediatric Neurology, 7Wayne State University - Detroit Medical Center, 8University of Virginia, 9University of Minnesota School of Medicine, 10Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Objective:
To report the one-year outcomes of the inaugural Neurology Digital Education Scholars Program (NDESP).
Background:
The NDESP is a longitudinal, nationally available, virtual educator skill development program that teaches neurologists evidence-based practices for creating and incorporating digital education into teaching, career development, and lifelong learning. The NDESP is supported by the Neurology Digital Education Collaborative (NDEC), a growing group of 23 medical educators focused on empowering neurologists to incorporate evidence-based digital education into teaching practices. The NDESP curriculum includes 12 courses over 10 months dedicated to (1) digital education and (2) educator development.
Design/Methods:
Program evaluations completed by scholars contain self-reported domains collected through REDCap. After the program, scholars are asked to self-report their satisfaction and retrospective comfort with digital education before and after the program and self-identified digital education scholar skill level.
Results:
The first two cohorts (Table 1) had varying demographics and backgrounds and were recruited through word-of-mouth/colleagues or Twitter/X. Most participants did not have prior digital education training. The first NDESP class completed the program in June 2024, with 12/22 (55%) completing all required elements to earn a certificate. Of those, most reported growth in professional educator identity (8/12, 67%), felt the NDESP met or exceeded their learner goals (12/12, 100%), and joined the NDEC as faculty and committee members (10/12, 83%). Participants preferred the live format (7/12, 58%), reporting it provided more value (10/12, 83%) than on-demand sessions. The most significant participation barriers were time (9/12, 75%) and lack of knowledge/confidence (2/12, 17%). The curriculum, survey, and time burden were adapted based on feedback.
Conclusions:
The NDESP was feasible and had a positive impact on participants. The program supports a growing community of neurology educators.
Disclaimer: Abstracts were not reviewed by Neurology® and do not reflect the views of Neurology® editors or staff.