Impact of a postgraduate year one (PGY-1) otolaryngology bootcamp on procedural skill development.

To measure the impact of an intensive eight-week postgraduate year one (PGY-1) otolaryngology bootcamp on the acquisition and retention of otolaryngology residents' procedural skills compared to the traditional method of skill acquisition through clinical exposure. Residents at our institution were evaluated on their performance of flexible laryngoscopy, suture ligature, and rigid bronchoscopy setup at three time points: pre-bootcamp, one-week post-bootcamp, and one-year post-bootcamp. Video recordings were scored by two blinded faculty reviewers using a multipoint rating system. A control group of rising postgraduate year two (PGY-2) residents who did not participate in bootcamp were recorded performing these same skills. Scores in the three skills were compared between groups via -tests. The eight-week bootcamp curriculum for PGY-1s was held at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Innovation in Simulation at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center. The participants were two classes of PGY-1 residents (n=8) at our institution who participated in a bootcamp at the beginning of residency, and one class of rising PGY-2 residents (n=3) who did not participate in a bootcamp (control group). A comparison of pre-bootcamp scores to one-week post-bootcamp scores showed significant improvement in suture ligature ( <0.05) and rigid bronchoscopy ( <0.05), but no difference in flexible laryngoscopy ( =0.54). Suture ligature ( =0.09) and rigid bronchoscopy ( =0.25) skills were not significantly different from one-week post-bootcamp to one-year post-bootcamp; however, a significant skill improvement was observed in flexible laryngoscopy ( <0.05). By June of PGY1 year, the two bootcamp cohorts were similar to controls in all three skills: flexible laryngoscopy ( =0.05), rigid bronchoscopy ( =0.26), and suture ligature ( =0.10). Participation in PGY-1 bootcamp was associated with improved acquisition and short-term retention of basic procedural skills, suggesting that bootcamps can be an effective arena to teach basic skills in otolaryngology. PGY-1 bootcamp is a promising arena for multi-institutional development.