Abstract Objectives The purpose was to examine how effective a case-based microlearning course was in increasing knowledge of evidence-based practices in effective test utilization of laboratory testing pertaining to an array of diseases and illnesses, including pancreatitis, cardiac injury, inflammation, Lynch syndrome, and respiratory viruses. Methods The course presented learners with a scenario targeting aspects of effective test utilization, such as the use of unnecessary tests, the underutilization of appropriate tests, and the overconsumption of supplies, and asked them about a specific recommendation or course of action. Learning was measured via a pretest and posttest. Results More than 8725 learners completed the course, the majority of whom were medical laboratory scientists (n = 4979, 57.1%). Mean (SD) test scores increased significantly, from 31.7 (17.4) to 92.8 (17.2), t(8724) = 245.9, P .01, η2 = 0.9. For each assessment item, χ2 analyses showed that the percentage of respondents who answered correctly on the posttest was significantly higher than on the pretest, with increases ranging from 35.5% to 75.8%. Conclusions The results from the pretest and posttest showed that the course significantly increased knowledge of evidence-based testing practices for diagnosing a variety of diseases and illnesses, including pancreatitis, cardiac injury, inflammation, Lynch syndrome, and respiratory viruses.
Kelly et al. (Sun,) studied this question.