Andrew Schmidt, MD, FAAOS
Published 8/11/2024
AAOS is pleased to announce recent updates to the Resident Orthopaedic Core Knowledge (ROCK) online learning platform. Building on valuable insights from residents and program directors at focus groups held during the AAOS 2024 Annual Meeting, AAOS has implemented upgrades to this interactive, multimedia, digital resource. These enhancements reflect AAOS’ ongoing commitment to prioritizing residency program needs, and future iterations will continue to be shaped by feedback from all ROCK users.
Actionable insights for program directors
One of the key upgrades is the launch of a comprehensive performance dashboard for program directors. This feature provides valuable metrics for deeper understanding of residents’ individual learning journeys and overall program performance. Key data points include:
- Study time spent in ROCK: Program directors can now monitor the amount of time residents actively spend on the platform. This provides insight into a resident’s study habits and can help program directors determine whether residents are dedicating sufficient time to study.
- Study sessions: The dashboard tracks how many times a resident uses ROCK during a selected timeframe. This provides insight into a resident’s study habits and can help program directors gauge overall resident engagement and identify potential performance issues.
- Chapter completion status: This feature offers a daily view of resident progress through assigned materials. Program directors can readily see which chapters each resident has completed, is currently working on, or has yet to begin. This allows for targeted interventions to ensure residents are covering all essential topics.
These advancements in ROCK analytics are a significant leap forward in program directors’ ability to monitor resident study habits and provide the necessary support to identify and address potential learning gaps.
Premium support for busy program directors
Understanding the demanding schedules of residency program directors, AAOS is now offering complimentary premium support for all subscribing programs. Program directors or coordinators can contact the ROCK team and describe their study-plan needs, and an AAOS staffer will build the program’s schedule, freeing up valuable time for more direct resident interaction and in-person supervision.
“Resident and program director feedback has been and will continue to be paramount to ROCK’s evolution,” says Andrew Schmidt, MD, FAAOS, chair of the AAOS Education Council. “We’ve incorporated valuable user insights from both groups into the latest upgrades, including the comprehensive performance dashboard and complimentary premium scheduling support for program directors. This enhanced level of support frees up valuable time for program directors to focus on resident interaction, while the performance dashboard empowers educators to identify and address learning gaps for optimal resident success. As another example, early feedback from residents about content has been received and acted upon, even to the point of adding a new chapter on hand infections.”
Expanding faculty awareness
Faculty access to ROCK is now included with each program’s annual subscription at no added cost. This allows faculty members to review the depth of multimedia content available to residents for each subspecialty, then collaborate with the program director to schedule assignments. Participating programs can easily activate access by providing a list of faculty members and their email addresses to the ROCK team.
Strengthening OITE preparation
ROCK’s commitment to resident success extends beyond the core educational content. Recognizing the importance of the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination® (OITE), AAOS has integrated a new feature designed to optimize OITE preparation. Residents who participated in the 2023 OITE received enhanced results reports that included not only the question, answer choices, and explanations, but also direct links to relevant ROCK chapters for deeper study. These chapter links, curated by orthopaedic experts, provide residents with 24/7 access to supplemental learning materials for targeted study in preparation for the upcoming OITE.
Performance dashboards for individual success
Residents in programs that subscribe to ROCK have exclusive access to resident performance dashboards featuring benchmarking data. This enables residents to measure their progress on assignment completion, chapter completion, and post-test performance. Additionally, residents can benchmark their performance alongside all ROCK users within their residency program year. This valuable feature fosters self-directed learning and allows residents to gauge their learning accomplishments compared to their peers.
Comprehensive video user guides
To ensure that residents and program directors can fully leverage the platform’s capabilities, AAOS has developed a series of video user guides. These concise video tutorials, available in versions for both residents and program directors, provide easy-to-follow instructions for navigating ROCK’s tools and resources. Topics covered range from the platform’s basic functionalities to more advanced features, such as creating customized study schedules, utilizing performance dashboards to assess resident progress, and employing benchmarking data to compare program performance against other ROCK users.
AAOS remains dedicated to providing residents and residency programs with the most comprehensive and effective educational tools available. The recent enhancements to the platform further solidify ROCK’s position as the gold standard of online learning for orthopaedic residents, empowering them to achieve academic excellence and build a strong foundation for a successful career in orthopaedic surgery.
Residency programs who wish to enroll their program in ROCK can contact the AAOS Service Center at 800.626.6726, option 1, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.