Background: Free open access medical education (FOAM) resources have become increasingly popular in graduate medical education. Despite their accessibility, the assessment of FOAM resources' quality is challenging due to their decentralized nature and the diverse qualifications of their authors and distribution platforms. In this first pediatric systematic online academic resource (SOAR) review, we utilized a systematic methodology to aggregate and assess the quality of FOAM resources on pediatric respiratory infectious disease topics. Methods: We searched 177 keywords using FOAMSearch, the top 50 FOAM websites on the Social Media Index, and seven additional pediatric emergency medicine-focused blogs. Following a basic initial screen, resources then underwent full-text quality assessment utilizing the revised Medical Education Translational Resources: Impact and Quality (rMETRIQ) tool. Results: The search yielded 44,897 resources. After 44,456 were excluded, 441 underwent quality assessment. A total of 36/441 posts (8% of posts) reached the high-quality threshold score (rMETRIQ ≥ 16). The most frequent topics overall were pneumonia and bronchiolitis. A total of 67/441 posts (15% of posts) were found to have a rMETRIQ score of less than or equal to 7, which may indicate poor quality. Conclusions: We systematically identified, described, and performed quality assessment on FOAM resources pertaining to the topic of pediatric respiratory infectious disease. We found that there is a paucity of high-quality posts on this topic. Despite this, the curated list of high-quality resources can help guide trainees and educators toward relevant educational information and suggest unmet needs for future FOAM resources.
BACKGROUND: Free open-access medical education (FOAM) has become an integral resource for medical school and residency education. However, questions of quality and inconsistent coverage of core topics remain. In this second entry of the SAEM Systematic Online Academic Resource (SOAR) series, we describe the application of a systematic methodology to identify, curate, and describe FOAM topics specific to endocrine, metabolic, and nutritional disorders as defined by the 2016 Model of the Clinical Practice of Emergency Medicine (MCPEM). METHODS: We developed an automated algorithm to search 264 keywords derived from nine subtopics within the MCPEM category in the FOAM Search (a customized FOAM search tool) and the Social Media index. The top 100 results were extracted for each keyword. Resources underwent a manual iterative screening process, and those relevant to endocrine, metabolic, or nutritional disorders and EM were evaluated with the revised Medical Education Translational Resources: Impact and Quality (rMETRIQ) tool. RESULTS: The search yielded 36,346 resources, of which 756 met the criteria for quality assessment. After rMETRIQ tool training, four raters demonstrated an average measured intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.94 (95% confidence interval = 0.88 to 0.97, p < 0.001). A total of 121 posts (16% of posts) covering 25 subtopics were identified as high quality (rMETRIQ ≥16). The most covered subtopic was potassium disorders, representing 15% of all posts. Subtopics that did not have a high-quality resource identified include metabolic alkalosis, respiratory alkalosis, fluid overload, phosphorus metabolism, hyperglycemia, malabsorption, malnutrition, and thyroiditis. From most to least common, the overall target audience was junior resident (91%), PGY-1 resident (88%), senior resident (81%), clerk (64%), attending (50%), and preclerkship (9%). CONCLUSIONS: We systematically identified, described, and curated FOAM resources for EM learners on the topic of endocrine, metabolic, and nutritional disorders. A final list of high-quality resources can guide trainees, educator recommendations, and FOAM authors.
