A Pediatric Resident Diabetes Curriculum Targeting Different Learning Styles

Diabetes-related medical errors can lead to excessive morbidity, complications, disability, and even death.¹ In the inpatient setting, errors involving insulin therapy have been associated with 33% of deaths that occurred within 48 hours of a medical error.² There is accumulating evidence that insulin errors can be reduced with increased clinical supervision, along with educational curriculums.³

During the past decade, the endocrinology and diabetes division at Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) in Washington, D.C., implemented a diabetes care pathway to help guide physicians in diabetes management.⁴ Pathway education was provided to residents via delivery of three 1-hour lectures during the traditional resident core lecture series.

Despite transmittal of this information, there continued to be a significant number of diabetes-related errors. Based on analysis, they fell into four categories: insulin dosing and timing, choice of intravenous fluids after pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) transfer, miscommunication between health care professionals, and discharge planning.

Pedagogies were altered to embrace a more learner-centered approach that addresses differences in learning styles and requires active engagement on the part of the residents. As a result of this new curriculum, diabetes-related errors decreased significantly.⁵ This article discusses the curriculum that was developed, focusing on the variety of teaching approaches and their relationship to various styles of learning.