AAOS expands knowledge-based platform for resident education
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In March 2022, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons launched the Resident Orthopaedic Core Knowledge program, which provides in-depth resources to residents by utilizing the latest technology, research and educational materials.
Designed to provide residents with a consistent baseline of core foundational knowledge aligned to meet their individual needs, the Resident Orthopaedic Core Knowledge program curriculum launched with basic science and spine sections and has since expanded with the inclusion of hip and knee, sports medicine, shoulder and elbow, pediatrics and general principles. According to the AAOS, oncology and foot and ankle sections are slated to be added Jan. 27, 2023, and trauma and hand and wrist sections are slated for March 3, 2023.
“The goal of [the program] is to have a resident curriculum that every resident around the country can use – a knowledge-based curriculum that would standardize education,” Paul Tornetta III, MD, FAAOS, chair of the AAOS Education Council and co-director of the ROCK program, told Healio.
Knowledge-based curriculum
With content that follows the blueprint of the AAOS Orthopaedic In-Training Examination and aligns with the ABOS Part I board certification exam, the ROCK program consists of 488 total chapters, more than 500 authors, 90 section editors and 22 subspecialty editors, more than 1,000 full-text journal articles, more than 1,000 full-text chapters, 500 videos and more than 3,000 exam chapters. Tornetta also noted the subspecialty editors collaborated on chapters that might have overlap, such as elbow fractures, to create a standardized opinion.
Each chapter on the platform consists of a pre- and post-test, an expanded text version and bulleted version of the chapter, figures and videos, according to Tornetta. In addition, he noted the AAOS has provided access to symposia and instructional course lectures presented at the AAOS Annual Meeting.
“[The ROCK] is a wonderful resource. Residents could spend about an hour a chapter to get through what we think is the bare minimum to understand, but if they wanted to spend a weekend digging into distal radius, there are maybe 12 hours of material in that chapter within the resources at the end and all of the links to all of the different things that are out there,” Tornetta said.
Consistent education for all programs
While created with orthopedic residents in mind, the ROCK program provides program directors with the flexibility to incorporate content at the depth, breadth and timing necessary to achieve their program’s specific goals, according to the AAOS release. Tornetta noted program directors are encouraged to use the platform to assign chapters to residents throughout their residency and to track their residents’ progress.
“If there is an area that someone seems to be weak in, we’ll be able to remedy that by reassigning different resources within the curriculum right through the program,” he said.
To keep the ROCK program up to date with the latest information and in line with the ABOS, Tornetta noted each chapter will be reviewed every year for accuracy and undergo a complete revision every 3 years.
“The goal is to adapt, to make this a desirable program for the residents or programs directors to use in order to meet the goal of consistent education across the board for all programs,” Tornetta said.
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