Outcome Of Peer-Assisted Learning With Clinical Scenarios

This educational intervention study was conducted in a municipal medical college in Maharashtra, India. 60 rst-year MBBS students aged 18 years and above, of either gender, were briefed about peer-assisted learning. A pre-test was administered after a faculty-delivered conventional lecture. Subsequently, a trained peer teacher taught the same topic and an identical test was again administered. The mean marks (out of 20) of students increased from 15.37 +/- 2.69 (pre-test) to 17.80 +/- 1.97 (post-test), exhibiting signicant difference (p<0.00001). The differences in the mean marks obtained in the pre-and post-tests by male (p=0.000079) and female (p=0.000063) students were also signicant. The gender differences in the mean marks were not statistically signicant in the pre-test (p=0.633) and the post-test (p=0.696). The results suggest that case scenarios combined with peer-assisted learning increases cognitive domain scores and have the potential to be used as a supplementary method, as an adjunct to faculty teaching.

Outcome of combination of methods of educational interventions in physiology for first-year MBBS students

Background: This comparative, before and after study (without controls) was conducted in a municipal medical college to compare the cognitive domain scores obtained by first-year MBBS students after didactic lectures with that obtained after an educational intervention that combined integrated teaching with clinical scenarios.Methods: After obtaining prior permissions, the purpose of the study was explained to first-year MBBS students and written informed consent was obtained. After attending curriculum-based didactic lectures on the alimentary system, the students (n=62, females: n=29, 46.77% and males: n=33, 53.23%) took a pre-test comprising ten questions (total 20 marks). After the pre-test, the participants attended an educational intervention that combined integrated teaching with clinical scenarios on the same topic. Subsequently, the post-test was administered using a questionnaire that was identical to that of the pre-test.Results: The mean overall marks obtained in the pre-test was 14.73±1.87 (95% CI: 14.26-15.19), while that obtained in the post-test was 17.16±1.73 (95% CI: 16.73-17.59), exhibiting highly significant (p <0.00001) difference. The gender difference in scores was significant (p=0.011) for only question no. 1 in the pre-test and there was no significant gender difference in the post-test.Conclusions: A combined method of educational intervention was found to enhance the cognitive domain scores of students. Though a larger study would be needed to generalize the findings, male students seem to need an additional educational intervention to improve their cognitive domain scores. Despite time limitations in the teaching schedule for the first-year MBBS course, integrated teaching with case scenarios can be implemented to impart early clinical exposure.