The Impact of an Experience-Based Versus Traditional Continuous Glucose Monitoring Curriculum on Internal Medicine Resident Confidence and Knowledge.

BACKGROUND

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is an important tool in diabetes care, yet providers often have limited familiarity with its use. Personal CGM use may enhance provider knowledge and confidence.

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated whether an experience-based CGM curriculum (EC) improves confidence and knowledge among internal medicine (IM) residents compared with a traditional curriculum (TC).

DESIGN

IRB-exempt, prospective, randomized educational intervention.

PARTICIPANTS

Thirty-six IM residents.

INTERVENTIONS: Residents were assigned to either EC (didactic, clinic, 10 days of personal CGM wear) or TC (didactic and clinic only).

MAIN MEASURES: Primary outcome: change in CGM confidence scores as measured by pre- and post-curriculum surveys.

SECONDARY OUTCOME: percentage of post-curriculum knowledge questions answered correctly on the knowledge assessment. Paired pre- vs post-survey responses were compared using McNemar testing; EC vs TC were compared using Fisher's exact test. A qualitative outcome analyzed free-text responses regarding participant experience using CGM.

RESULTS

Thirty-six residents completed the pre-curriculum survey and 27 the post-curriculum survey (n = 13 EC, n = 14 TC), with 23 paired responses. Overall confidence improved across multiple CGM domains. Confidence in helping a patient apply a CGM sensor increased significantly overall (p = 0.0001), with greater improvement in EC (p = 0.0003). Smartphone integration showed a similar pattern (EC vs TC p = 0.012) as did confidence addressing patient questions (EC vs TC p = 0.012). Confidence explaining CGM function (p = 0.004) and interpreting reports (p = 0.004) increased overall but without between-group differences. Knowledge scores were similar (EC 67 ± 12% vs TC 62 ± 16%). Qualitative themes included insight into the patient experience, improved procedural confidence, greater lifestyle counseling ability, and endorsement of experiential learning.

CONCLUSIONS

Providing an opportunity to personally use CGMs among IM residents produced greater gains in applied and patient-facing skills than a traditional curriculum. These findings support incorporating hands-on CGM experience into residency training to better prepare trainees for modern diabetes care.