New approach to learning medical procedures using a smartphone and the Moodle platform to facilitate assessments and written feedback

Abstract

Background: To overcome communication obstacles between medical students and trainers, we designed serial learning activities utilizing a smartphone and web-based instruction (WBI) on the Moodle platform to provide clear and retrievable trainer feedback to students on an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) item. Methods: We evaluated students’ learning achievement and satisfaction with the new learning tool. A total of 80 fourth-year medical students participated. They installed the Moodle app (the WBI platform) on their smartphones and practiced an endotracheal suction procedure on a medical simulation mannequin while being evaluated by a trainer regarding competence in clinical skills on the smartphone app. Students’ competency was evaluated by comparing the scores between the formative assessment and the summative assessment. The degree of satisfaction and usefulness for the smartphone and WBI system were analyzed. Results: The means (standard deviations, SDs) of the formative and summative assessments were 8.80 (2.53) and 14.24 (1.97) out of a total of 17 points, respectively, reflecting a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The degree of satisfaction and perceived usefulness of the smartphone app and WBI system were excellent, with means (SDs) of 4.60 (0.58), and 4.60 (0.65), respectively. Conclusion: We believe that the learning process using a smartphone and the Moodle platform offers good guidance for OSCE skill development because trainers’ written feedback is recorded online and is retrievable at all times, enabling students to build and maintain competency through frequent feedback review.