Serious game, lectures or simulation-based mastery learning course which is the best method for training students about cardiac arrest management?

Abstract

"Background and aim: This study aimed to compare a serious game and lectures for the pretraining of medical students before learning about simulation-based management of cardiac arrest. Methods: Participants were 150 volunteer second-year medical students between April and June 2018 randomly assigned to CPR training using either lectures (n = 75) or a serious game (n = 75). Each participant was evaluated on a scenario of cardiac arrest before and after exposure to the learning methods. The primary outcome measures were the median total training time needed for the student to reach the minimum passing score. This same outcome was also assessed three months later. Results: The median training time necessary for students to reach the minimum passing score was similar between the two groups (p=0,45). Achieving an appropriate degree of chest compression was the most difficult requirement to fulfill for students in both groups. Singing the refrain of the song ""staying alive"" significantly increased the number of compressions with the correct rate. Three months later, the median training time decreased significantly in both groups. However, students have remained interested in the serious game for a longer time showing a preference for using this method. Conclusions: The serious game was not superior to lectures to pretraining medical students in the management of a cardiac arrest."