Study of Two Teaching Techniques to Teach Cardiac Auscultation to Physicians
Our objective was to test two educational interventions for teaching cardiac auscultation: self-directed learning using portable audio files versus a single, massed multimedia lecture intervention similar to current best practice, to determine which would most effectively increase recognition of common cardiac sounds by physicians. The investigators hypothesized that doctors learning on their own time could better improve their skills.
|Study Design:||Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Open Label
|Official Title:||Self-Directed Study Using MP3 Players Versus Multimedia Lecture to Improve Auscultation Proficiency of Physicians: A Randomized, Controlled Trial.|
- Improvement in auscultation score at 4 and 12 weeks [ Time Frame: 12 weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]Primary outcome was an improvement in test score from pre-test to 4 and 12-week post-test. All participants took a 15-question pretest in addition to a posttest at 4 and 12 weeks using identical heart sound files to those used in training. Each test Tests consisted of 8-second clips of each heart sound file, with 10 beats of each sound.
- Learner Satisfaction [ Time Frame: 12 weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]Both groups were asked to rate satisfaction with the teaching modality at the pretest and posttesting via 6-point Likert scale.
- Learner confidence [ Time Frame: 12 weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]Both groups were asked to rate confidence in their auscultatory skill at the pretest and posttesting at 12 weeks on a 6-point Likert scale.
|Study Start Date:||January 2011|
|Study Completion Date:||June 2011|
|Primary Completion Date:||June 2011 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)|
Active Comparator: Control
Other: Multimedia Lecture
Following the pretest, participants in the control arm received a 1-hour multimedia lecture (Power Point) taught by the same faculty member (AGK), which reviewed the pathophysiology, exacerbating and relieving factors, as well as visual diagrams of the heart sounds. The normal and seven pathologic heart sounds were played for participants during the lecture for a total of 2 minutes through high-quality home stereo speakers, exposing learners to 1280 beats in the 1-hour session. Abnormal sounds were taught in groups of systolic, diastolic and extra sounds, and were first introduced by name, and then as unknowns using mixed practice in each of the three sections.
Other Name: Lecture
Active Comparator: Intervention
Other: Self-Study using MP3 Player
Participants in the interventional arm of the study were given an MP3 player which contained eight, 15-second heart sound files (7 pathologic heart sound files and 1 normal heart sound file) alternated with nine leisure songs. MP3 players could play files in order or "shuffle" files in random order. Each heart sound file was introduced by the narrated phrase "Identify this sound,", followed by 10 beats of a heart sound recording, then the narrated identification of the heart sound. Participants were asked to use the MP3 player in order to improve their auscultation skills as often as they could and asked to record their activities while listening, but were given no further training.
Other Name: Self-Study
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|United States, Pennsylvania|
|The Reading Hospital and Medical Center|
|West Reading, Pennsylvania, United States, 19612|
|Study Director:||Anthony A Donato, MD||The Reading Hospital and Medical Center|
|Principal Investigator:||Antony G Kaliyadan, MD||The Reading Hospital and Medical Center|