Bloom’s taxonomy—Can evidence-based teaching improve junior medical officers’ knowledge of the mental health and guardianship acts?

Abstract

Objective To determine whether a brief educational intervention for Junior Medical Officers (JMOs), using teaching methods aimed at achieving higher outcomes on Bloom’s Taxonomy, significantly improved participant confidence and knowledge in decision making about restrictive care. Method JMOs received a teaching session on restrictive medical and mental health care. Groups were randomly assigned to either sessions including a component of modern pedagogical interventions (Think-Pair-Share and SNAPPS), or sessions including a control period focusing on reviewing a condensed summary of relevant information. Pre- and post-intervention measures were recorded for subjective self-ratings of confidence and scores on standardized clinically relevant extended matching questions (EMQs). Results There was no difference in subjective confidence improvement between groups; however, the group receiving the modern pedagogical intervention demonstrated significantly greater objective performance on knowledge-based EMQs. Conclusions A brief modern pedagogical intervention using interactive teaching methods shows promise for improving knowledge of restrictive care and the Mental Health and Guardianship Acts. In the control group, similarly increased confidence in knowledge did not equate to increased competence on a knowledge assessment. Refurbishing educational interventions presents opportunities for improving clinical outcomes and engaging junior doctors in psychiatry.