The effectiveness of different teaching methods on medical or nursing students: Protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Impact of educational instruction on medical student performance in simulation patient

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate the effects, and timing of, a video educational intervention on medical student performance in manikin-based simulation patient encounters.

METHODS

This prospective mixed-methods study was conducted as part of the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences undergraduate medical curriculum. One hundred sixty-six students second-year students participated in two simulations on a single day in September 2021. A 7-minute video intervention outlining the clinical diagnostic approach to pulmonary complaints was implemented. Students were randomized into 32 groups which were divided into two cohorts. One received the video prior to simulation-1 (n=83) and the other between simulation-1 and simulation-2 (n=83). Each simulation was recorded and assessed using a 44-point standardized checklist. Comparative analysis to determine differences in performance scores was performed using independent t-tests and paired t-tests.

RESULTS

Independent t-tests revealed the video-prior cohort performed better in simulation-1 (t₍₃₀₎= 2.27, p= .03), however in simulation-2 no significant difference was observed between the cohorts. Paired t-test analysis revealed the video-between cohort had significant improvement from simulation-1 to simulation-2 (t₍₁₅₎= 3.06, p = .01); no significant difference was found for the video-prior cohort. Less prompting was seen in simulation-2 among both the video-prior (t₍₁₅₎= -2.83, p= .01) and video-between cohorts (t₍₁₅₎= -2.18, p= .04).

CONCLUSIONS

Simulation training, and targeted educational interventions, facilitate medical students to become clinically competent practitioners. Our findings indicate that guided video instruction advances students' clinical performance greater than learning through simulation alone. To confirm these findings, similar investigations in other clinical training exercises should be considered.

Application of network teaching in nursing undergraduate education during the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently raging all over the world. COVID-19 can be transmitted among humans. To control the spread of the epidemic and meet the learning needs of students, Chinese universities have used a variety of multimedia forms to conduct online teaching. However, the influence of different teaching methods on the learning effects of nursing students has not been conclusive, and few studies have directly compared the differences in the effects of different teaching methods. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of different teaching methods on students' learning effects.

METHODS

A total of 119 participants from the graduating class of 2022 performed 4 validated classes (fundamental nursing, medical nursing, surgical nursing, and paediatric nursing) through network teaching. A total of 126 participants from the graduating class of 2021 used the traditional teaching method and were enrolled as a control group. All participants completed a questionnaire, which was designed by the school for teaching evaluation, and took a test after the courses.

RESULTS

A total of 245 nursing undergraduates were ultimately enrolled. The analysis of the academic performance and the student evaluations from the four courses showed no significant difference between the network teaching group and the traditional teaching group for nursing undergraduates (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Through the convenience of network teaching, teachers and students can choose the time and place of both their teaching and learning independently. Moreover, such use effectively prevents the spread of the epidemic. After the epidemic concludes, the continued use of the network teaching method can help improve teaching efficiency by being combined with the traditional teaching method.