title: Cross-sectional longitudinal study of the academic half-day format in a hematology-oncology fellowship training program.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few published studies have evaluated the effectiveness of changing the traditional curriculum of several hourly educational sessions per week to an academic half-day (AHD) educational format. This study describes our experience with implementing an AHD format in the Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and evaluates the perceptions that learners had for this format.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach, we evaluated our AHD program using four yearly fellows' surveys to assess the Hematology-Oncology Fellows' perceptions of the effectiveness of the AHD format. We analyzed the fellows' perceptions using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of the qualitative data collected from the surveys. We used a quality improvement approach by implementing and testing changes to the AHD over 4 years on the basis of the data collected from the yearly fellows' surveys. We also collected third-year fellows' Oncology In Training Exam (ITE) scores from 2008 to 2014.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the fellows perceived the AHD format favorably; fellows agreed that they had more motivation to attend AHD, more concentration during the sessions, more effective weekly work organization, and increased knowledge retention. We established the reliability of our survey tool (Cronbach's alpha = 0.83) as well as content and construct validity. We saw an increasing trend in ITE scores since the AHD was implemented.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results contribute to further understanding the effect of the AHD format on trainees. Using a continuous evaluation and an educational quality improvement strategy, we found that the AHD curriculum was associated with a rising trend in learners' exam scores and increased learner satisfaction.
authors: Department of General Medical Oncology, Unit 0462, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA. aeid@mdanderson.org.
authors: Ahmed
authors: A
authors: Eid
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin, Suite JJL 302, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. Peggy.H.Huang@uth.tmc.edu.
authors: Peggy
authors: P
authors: Hsieh
authors: Department of Infectious Disease & Infection Control Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. pankilshah@mdanderson.org.
authors: Pankil
authors: P
authors: Shah
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. rwolff@mdanderson.org.
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Wolff
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D004522:Educational Status; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006405:Hematology / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000193:education*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas