Photo by George Hodan
Doctor with a tablet
Tablet-based, multimedia-enhanced medical training improves examination results among medical students and residents, according to research published in PLOS ONE.
“Ideally, medical training should be taking place at the patient’s bedside rather than in lecture halls,” said study author Daniel C. Baumgart, MD, PhD, of Charité Medical School at Humboldt-University of Berlin in Germany.
“Communication devices, such as tablet computers, digital assistants, and smartphones, make medical data and learning materials available anywhere and anytime. Therefore, our aim was to study the impact of a systematic integration of such devices into medical teaching and training.”
The researchers studied 55 final-year medical students and medical residents doing an inpatient service rotation. The subjects were assigned to receive a tablet personal computer (PC) with a custom multimedia education software package (n=24) or to a control group (n=31).
The multimedia package tested included the Mobile Medical Educator software package (developed in-house) as well as other multimedia learning materials, such as eBooks, eJournals, slide kits, podcasts, videos, animations, image data, and the American College of Physicians’ validated self-assessment software.
The participants had to complete MKSAP® (medical knowledge self-assessment program) exams at the beginning and the end of their training rotations. The final MKSAP score was the study’s primary endpoint.
The mean MKSAP score improved in the tablet PC group but not the control group. The final mean score was significantly higher in the tablet PC group than the control group—59 and 48, respectively (P<0.001).
When the researchers adjusted their analysis for subjects’ baseline score and potential confounders, the tablet PC group had, on average, 11% better MKSAP test results than the control group (P<0.001).
“We were able to show improvements in internal medicine exam results, which were independent of socio-demographic factors,” Dr Baumgart said. “Participant feedback was particularly positive in relation to an integrated, fully digitized workflow for clinical practice and training.”
