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Blinded randomized controlled study of a web‐based otoscopy simulator in undergraduate medical education
Author(s) -
Stepniak Camilla,
Wickens Brandon,
Husein Murad,
Paradis Josee,
Ladak Hanif M.,
Fung Kevin,
Agrawal Sumit K.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1002/lary.26246
Subject(s) - medicine , test (biology) , randomized controlled trial , physical therapy , otology , simulation , medical physics , surgery , computer science , paleontology , biology
Objectives/Hypothesis OtoTrain is a Web‐based otoscopy simulator that has previously been shown to have face and content validity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this Web‐based otoscopy simulator in teaching diagnostic otoscopy to novice learners Study Design Prospective, blinded randomized control trial. Methods Second‐year medical students were invited to participate in the study. A pretest consisted of a series of otoscopy videos followed by an open‐answer format assessment pertaining to the characteristics and diagnosis of each video. Participants were then randomly divided into a control group and a simulator group. Following the pretest, both groups attended standard otology lectures, but the simulator group was additionally given unlimited access to OtoTrain for 1 week. A post‐test was completed using a separate set of otoscopy videos. Tests were graded based on a comprehensive marking scheme. The pretest and post‐test were anonymized, and the three evaluators were blinded to student allotment. Results A total of 41 medical students were enrolled in the study and randomized to the control group (n = 20) and the simulator group (n = 21). There was no significant difference between the two groups on their pretest scores. With the standard otology lectures, the control group had a 31% improvement in their post‐test score (mean ± standard error of the mean, 30.4 ± 1.5) compared with their pretest score (23.3 ± 1.8) ( P < .001). The simulator group had the addition of OtoTrain to the otology lectures, and their score improved by 71% on their post‐test (37.8 ± 1.6) compared to their pretest (22.1 ± 1.9) ( P < .001). Comparing the post‐test results, the simulator group had a 24% higher score than the control group ( P < .002). Inter‐rater reliability between the blinded evaluators was excellent ( r = 0.953, P < .001). Conclusions The use of OtoTrain increased the diagnostic otoscopic performance in novice learners. OtoTrain may be an effective teaching adjunct for undergraduate medical students. Level of Evidence 1b. Laryngoscope , 127:1306–1311, 2017