Pulmonary auscultation training of medical students: a comparison of electronic and conventional stethoscopes

Abstract

Objective 2 independent studies were undertaken to assess the value of electronic stethoscopes in the training of pulmonary auscultation in the setting of classroom or bedside respectively.Methods 38 medical students without clinical experience were randomized into 2 groups in the classroom training section.17 students participated in a seminar on lung sounds during which electronic stethoscopes were used to play recorded lung sounds,and others received conventional formal teaching on chest auscultation as control group.Chest auscultation skills were evaluated before and after training,and questionnaires were done to evaluate the performance of electronic stethoscope compared with traditional stethoscope.In the bedside training session,30 patients participated in bedside training using electronic or traditional stethoscopes.Time of bedside training was recorded and questionnaires were done.Results Chest auscultation skills of students in both groups were increased after training.No differences in the examination score were observed between the two groups in the preliminary test(P =0.660).However,in the post-intervention assessment,the examination score of the students who had followed the electronic stethoscope training seminar was significantly greater than that of the controls (P =0.002).The answers to a feedback questionnaire indicated that electronic stethoscope was more useful for learning and examination compared with the traditional stethoscope.Time of bedside training was shortened and patients felt more comfortable with the use of electronic stethoscopes compared with the traditional stethoscopes.Conclusions Short time training of inexperienced medical students with electronic stethoscope significantly promoted their discrimination ability of lung sounds compared to students receiving only conventional teaching.The use of electronic stethoscope could also convenience bedside training by shortening training time. Key words: Electronic stethoscope ; Lung sounds; Auscultation; Bedside training