The Breakfast Club: Enhancing Emergency Medicine Education Through Spaced Retrieval and Elaborative Interrogation Techniques

Division

West Florida

Hospital

Oak Hill Hospital

Document Type

Manuscript

Publication Date

4-14-2026

Keywords

emergency medicine, internship and residency, graduate medical education, learning, quality improvement

Disciplines

Emergency Medicine | Medical Education | Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Emergency medicine (EM) residencies present a challenging educational environment. Despite extensive research supporting cognitive learning strategies such as retrieval practice, spaced repetition, and elaborative interrogation in improving knowledge retention, these strategies remain underutilized in graduate medical education (GME) settings. There is a critical need to develop and implement novel teaching methodologies that enhance resident learning and retention without detracting from patient care. This study aims to address this need by integrating said techniques in an innovative curriculum titled "The Breakfast Club." Prior research in non-GME education settings has demonstrated the efficacy of these techniques in promoting deeper understanding and longer retention of complex topics. We hypothesize that incorporating these strategies will positively impact EM residents' comprehension and retention.

METHODS: The curriculum was implemented in a single-institution EM residency program as a pilot study. Residents in the intervention group participated voluntarily in a hour-long virtual session facilitated by one instructor utilizing cognitive learning techniques; residents in the control group participated only in the standard program curriculum. A pretest and postintervention assessment were used to compare knowledge comprehension and retention at short-term and long-term intervals. Questions were developed and reviewed by EM educators for content validity and quality assurance.

RESULTS: Our study revealed a trend toward greater knowledge translation. Residents who participated in a single Breakfast Club session (

CONCLUSION: A brief, small group intervention using cognitive learning techniques was easy to implement, required minimal resources, and engaged residents to improve their medical knowledge in gastrointestinal pathophysiology. Further exploration with a larger cohort and varying topics will help establish whether these techniques can serve as a cornerstone for evidence-based teaching strategies in EM education.

Publisher or Conference

AEM Education and Training

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