E-mail amplification of a mock code teaching round

To determine whether e-mail could be used to supplement a teaching round, w e implemented the following educational intervention: each Monday, a mock c ode was presented, Two e-mails were then sent the same day to all residents . One summarized the main teaching points whereas the second solicited disc ussion, Each Friday, a third e-mail was sent that summarized the discussion . We collected all e-mails and surveyed the residents. Fifteen of 18 reside nts completed the questionnaire; two were not participants in the e-round. Forty percent (7/15) of the residents attended fewer than half of the mock codes but most participants (10/13) reported reading >95% of the e-mails. A majority reported storing (11/13), printing (7/ 13), and reading e-mails a second time (12/13), Seven of 13 reported learning as much or more from th e e-mails as from the mock code itself. We conclude that e-mail can increas e learning from a traditional mock code teaching round. (C) 2001 Elsevier S cience Inc.