The Effect of a Microlearning Module on Knowledge Acquisition in Surgery Clerkship Students

Evaluating Operative Exposure for Medical Students in the Era of Virtual Learning: A Single-Institution Experience

INTRODUCTION

Training at a tertiary center offers clerkship students the opportunity to rotate through a wide range of surgical specialties that may not be otherwise available. At our institution, students rotate through general surgery for 3 out of 9 weeks, with the remainder offering electives. As a result, students may have limited experience with core general surgery cases which are necessary to complete by the end of the clerkship to demonstrate competency. In efforts to standardize clinical training, students must log 11 core general surgery cases either in the operating room or modules via Wise-MD. Wise-MD is used in place of participating in the operating room when students do not have the opportunity to see certain cases during their surgical rotation. The purpose of the study is to ascertain what proportion of third year medical students experience core general surgery cases in the operating room versus Wise-MD, providing insight into ways to improve the surgical clerkship.

METHODS

Clerkship students recorded whether surgical cases are completed via Wise-MD or experienced in the operating room. Forms submitted by students who completed surgical clerkship between January 2018 to September 2022 were analyzed. For each core surgical case (anorectal, appendicitis, bowel obstruction, breast cancer, cholecystitis, colon cancer, diverticulitis, inguinal hernia, lung cancer, skin cancer, and trauma) students were stratified based on their reported experience. The proportion of Wise-MD versus operating room cases was calculated.

RESULTS

Between January 2018 and September 2022 a total of 411 students submitted completed case logs. Among all surgical cases, 60% were experienced by students in the operating room. The surgical cases with the highest proportion of operating room experience included appendicitis (78%), cholecystitis (85%), inguinal hernia (79%), and trauma (76%). The surgical cases with the lowest proportion of operating room experience included lung cancer (34%) and skin cancer (44%).

CONCLUSION

Despite enforcing a general surgery block, about 40% of students are not experiencing most "bread and butter" surgical cases. Clerkship directors should be mindful about the distribution of medical students among surgical teams as this may affect which cases are observed. Moreover, the opportunity for surgical electives may influence general surgery exposure.

Impact of Bedside Laparotomy Simulation and Microlearning on Trauma Nurse Role Clarity, Knowledge, and Confidence

BACKGROUND

The care of patients undergoing low-volume, high-risk emergency procedures such as bedside laparotomy (BSL) remains a challenge for surgical trauma critical care nurses.

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluates simulation and microlearning on trauma nurse role ambiguity, knowledge, and confidence in caring for patients during emergency BSL.

METHODS

The study is a single-center, prospective pretest-posttest design conducted from September to November 2022 at a Level I trauma center in the Mid-Atlantic United States using simulation and microlearning to evaluate role clarity, knowledge, and confidence among surgical trauma intensive care unit (STICU) nurses. Participants, nurses from a voluntary convenience sample within a STICU, attended a simulation and received three weekly microlearning modules. Instruments measuring role ambiguity, knowledge, and confidence were administered before the simulation, after, and again at 30 days.

RESULTS

From the pretest to the initial posttest, the median (interquartile range [IQR]) Role Ambiguity scores increased by 1.0 (1.13) (p < .001), and at the 30-day posttest, improved by 1.33 (1.5) (p < .001). The median (IQR) knowledge scores at initial posttest improved by 4.0 (2.0) (p < .001) and at the 30-day posttest improved by 3.0 (1.75) (p< .001). The median (IQR) confidence scores at initial posttest increased by 0.08 (0.33) (p = .009) and at the 30-day posttest improved by 0.33 (0.54) (p = .01).

CONCLUSIONS

We found that simulation and microlearning improved trauma nurse role clarity, knowledge, and confidence in caring for patients undergoing emergency BSL.

Factors affecting medical students' satisfaction with online learning: a regression analysis of a survey

BACKGROUND

Medical education requires the implementation of different teaching methods and strategies for future doctors to achieve broad learning objectives. This wide range of methods and strategies includes the use of Information Technologies. For a long time, there was a call for a change in medical education for blending new teaching approaches to lessen medical students' class time. The COVID-19 pandemic then sped up the transition to the new way of medical education and classroom lectures were quickly moved to a virtual environment. We expect that these changes will continue, and online learning will be one of the main teaching strategies in medical education. Therefore, educational experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic will improve our understanding of online learning and will help to develop blended medical school curricula in the future. For this reason, we aimed to determine students' overall satisfaction with their online learning experience and to define the main factors affecting students' satisfaction with their online learning program at Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey study was conducted to determine medical students' overall satisfaction with online learning methods and to identify factors associated with positive and negative satisfaction levels. A questionnaire, consisting of 24 questions to collect demographic characteristics, factors associated with online education experience and overall satisfaction levels was developed and distributed to 1600 medical students. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with positive and negative satisfaction levels.

RESULTS

Regression analysis showed that being familiar with online teaching techniques (β = 0.19, 95% CI [0.07, 0.30], faculty members' higher online teaching skill levels (β = 0.42, 95% CI [0.32, 0.51], interactive online teaching approaches (β = 0.54, 95% CI [0.41, 0.67], having a personal workspace (β = 0.43, 95% CI [0.19, 0.67], and a self-reported longer attention span (β = 0.75, 95% CI [0.57, 0.92] were associated with higher overall satisfaction with online learning. The occurrence of technical problems (β = -0.19, 95% CI [-0.26, -0.12] was associated with lower overall satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher online teaching skills of faculty members, use of interactive approaches, students' familiarity with online teaching techniques, provision of a personal workspace, and self-reported longer attention spans positively contributed to higher levels of student satisfaction with online learning. Considering the increasing significance of online educational methods, our study identified key components that affect students' level of satisfaction. This information might contribute to the development of online educational programs in the future.

Enhancing Medical Students' Knowledge and Performance in Otolaryngology Rotation through Combining Microlearning and Task-Based Learning Strategies

Microlearning is recommended to be implemented within the context of a wider teaching-learning ecosystem, especially in real working environments. Task-based learning is used in clinical education setting. This study aims at assessing the effect of an integrated approach of microlearning with task-based learning on medical students' knowledge and performance in Ear, Nose and Throat clerkship rotation. A total of 59 final-year medical students participated in this quasi-experimental study which included two control groups (routine teaching and task-based learning methods) and one intervention group (combined microlearning and task-based learning method). Pre- and post-tests of students' knowledge and performance were assessed through a multiple-choice question test and a Direct Observation Procedural Skills (DOPS) instrument, respectively. Performing Analysis of Covariance for knowledge post-test scores among three groups revealed significant differences (F = 3.423, p-value = 0.040) and the intervention group had the highest score. Analyzing DOPS results showed that the intervention group achieved significantly higher scores compared to the control ones for all the expected tasks (p-values = 0.001). The findings of the present study show that the combined strategy of microlearning with task-based learning is an effective clinical teaching method for enhancing medical students' knowledge and performance in a real working environment.

Using a mobile application for psychiatry training in medical students: a quasi-experimental study

OBJECTIVE

Microlearning and gamification through mobile technology can significantly enhance knowledge acquisition and satisfaction. Roozbehyar application, was designed using microlearning and gamification approaches for psychiatry clerkship training.

METHOD

This quasi-experimental study was conducted in Roozbeh Hospital, in 2021. The intervention group was assigned to the Roozbehyar during a 4-week course. Knowledge and satisfaction were assessed after 4 weeks.

RESULTS

We recruited 27 (F/M: 19/8) and 35 students (F/M: 22/13) in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Learning through Roozbehyar was associated with higher scores in the final written exam (p value: 0.031). No difference was seen in the final global assessment scores. The satisfaction scores of the students regarding the content and learners' aspect of the application were above average, yet scores in structural and support aspects were below average.

CONCLUSIONS

We highlighted the effect of a microlearning mobile application in increasing knowledge and satisfaction in psychiatry training in medical students.