Abstract
BackgroundNear-peer teaching (NPT) is a special way of teaching where the tutor is one or more academic years ahead of the person being tutored. The literature agrees on the benefits of the method, but there are only a few publications examining its effectiveness using objective methods. The aim of our study was to examine the effectiveness of NPT in the training of basic surgical skills.MethodsWe included 60 volunteer students who participated in a 20 × 45 min long surgical skills course. Based on the results of a pre-course test, we randomly divided the students into six equal groups. All groups completed the same curriculum, with three groups being assisted by a NPT tutor. After the course, they completed the same test as at the beginning. The exams were recorded on anonymized videos and were blindly evaluated. The students’ satisfaction was monitored using a self-administered online anonymous questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests.ResultsOverall, student performance improved with completion of the course (from 119.86 to 153.55 points, p < 0.01). In groups where a NPT tutor assisted, students achieved a significantly better score (37.20 vs. 30.18 points improvement, p = 0.036). The difference was prominent in surgical knotting tasks (14.73 vs. 9.30 points improvement, p < 0.01). In cases of suturing (15.90 vs. 15.46 points) and laparoscopy (7.00 vs. 4.98 points), the presence of the NPT tutor did not significantly affect development. Based on student feedback, although students positively assessed the presence of NPT, it did not significantly improve students’ overall satisfaction since it was already 4,82 on a scale of 5 in the control group.ConclusionsOverall, involving a NPT tutor had a positive impact on student development. An outstanding difference was observed in connection with knotting techniques.
Highlights
Near-peer teaching (NPT) is a special way of teaching where the tutor is one or more academic years ahead of the person being tutored
There is no uniformly accepted definition of NPT, the already existing descriptions basically agree that it is a form of peer education in which a student in the teaching role participates in the same training but is at least one academic year ahead in his or her studies than the student in the student role [12, 13]
We have found just one publication by Preece et al examining the effectiveness of NPT in teaching surgical skills
Summary
Near-peer teaching (NPT) is a special way of teaching where the tutor is one or more academic years ahead of the person being tutored. The aim of our study was to examine the effectiveness of NPT in the training of basic surgical skills. Near-peer teaching (NPT) is gaining popularity as an effective teaching method in medicine, especially in anatomy and basic sciences. There is no uniformly accepted definition of NPT, the already existing descriptions basically agree that it is a form of peer education in which a student in the teaching role participates in the same training but is at least one academic year ahead in his or her studies than the student in the student role [12, 13]. A widely accepted principle of the method is to exploit the benefits of cognitive and social congruence. Social congruence (i.e., a similar role) allows for the creation of a calm and easy educational environment [13,14,15]
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