Abstract
Introduction: Significant changes to the multiple myeloma (MM) landscape have occurred within the past 10 years. Keeping up-to-date on drugs to treat MM and the management of side effects is challenging. The 2014 Multiple Myeloma Mentorship Program (MMMP) was an online educational activity designed to bridge serial learning activities and independent clinical practice. The MMMP provided a focused, interactive, peer-to-peer educational experience for 10 mentees leading to Advanced Clinical Educator (ACE) status. The curriculum included activities focusing on survivorship, strategies for side effect management, and treatment of MM in first-line, maintenance, and relapsed/refractory settings. The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and AXIS Medical Education, in partnership with RealCME, provided this mentorship opportunity. This activity was supported by an educational grant from Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company. Description: From May 2014 to March 2015, 10 mentees, representing 9 states, were paired with 1 of 2 experienced MM mentors. The mentees were taught about MM with a structured serial learning curriculum, which included a baseline self-assessment, 2 self-study sessions, and 2 virtual summits. Each mentee then presented 2 MM-focused slide decks created by the mentors to 257 learners at various practice settings nationwide. Learners included nurses, physicians, and support staff. Each mentee then completed a final self-assessment to conclude their participation in the MMMP. The modular activities were also opened to a national audience of healthcare professionals (national curriculum). The objective of the program was twofold: to improve mentees’ knowledge, competency (case-based), confidence, and level of performance in the treatment of patients with MM; and to build their skills as MM subject matter experts and speakers. Methods: Pre-test and post-test surveys of the 4 learning domains were compiled across all the activities in the MMMP. All questions in the pre-test and post-test sections were tagged in the RealMeasure platform by question type and for particular learning objectives and subject areas. A RealIndex composite score, based on a multidimensional situation-based question that addresses the learning objectives of the curriculum, was also calculated to measure performance. Summary: For the mentorship cohort, significant gains were measured across the curriculum in learning domains of knowledge (change = 6%; P = .01), confidence (change = 11%; P = .001), and practice strategy (change = 25%; P < .0005). The gains observed in competence (change = 13%; P = .141) and on the RealIndex (change = 9%; P = .139) did not meet statistical significance due to small sample size. Upon completion of the MMMP, mentees achieved ACE status. Additionally, findings show that the mentorship cohort’s average scores were higher compared to those attendees participating in the national curriculum presentations at both pre-test and post-test in knowledge, confidence, and performance, demonstrating the success and impact of participation in the MMMP.
