Resident acquisition of knowledge during a noontime conference series.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Noontime conferences are widely used in family practice residencies. This study determined the effectiveness of noontime conferences for increasing residents' knowledge. METHODS Twenty residents were tested monthly over 6 months and then cumulatively on the content of noontime conferences. RESULTS Monthly test scores of attendees versus nonattendees were compared using a two-sample, two-tail t test. Results revealed the mean score of attendees for short-term knowledge to be 12.1 points higher than nonattendees. There was no correlation, however, between conference attendance and long-term knowledge retention. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate a lack of correlation between noontime conference attendance and long-term cumulative test scores. The results question the value of noontime conferences as a teaching method.