AO In-Hospital: effective and sustainable workplace-based education
Healthcare professionals typically engage in various continuing education (CME) and continuing professional development (CPD) activities throughout the year, but factors like time, cost or financial and personal constraints can limit participation, particularly for young professionals and those in low-resource environments. Workplace-based education helps overcome these barriers by minimizing time away from practice and offers the advantage of content tailored to specific institutional needs.
Under the leadership of Wa'el Taha, Michael Baumgaertner, and Kodi Kojima, AO launched the AO In-Hospital Trauma modules in 2022. These customizable activities are designed to be organized and delivered locally, offering resources like pre- and post-event assessments, lectures, clinical case discussions, and optional practical exercises. This approach ensures high impact and sustainability by integrating seamlessly into the clinical environment, with predefined workflows that simplify implementation. The success of the modules has prompted plans to expand the concept to other clinical specialties.
AO In-Hospital also attracted the attention of the international medical education community, with the workshop "Designing and Implementing Workplace Learning: In-Hospital Training Modules for Surgical and Operating Room Personnel" at the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (ACEHP) annual meeting, and an e-poster at the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) conference.
