Learning Of Technical Skills Research Articles

Digital vs. conventional instructor-led midwifery training in Benue State, Nigeria: a randomized non-inferiority trial

BackgroundMany health education institutions in African countries such as Nigeria face increasing enrolment of students but lack an adequate number of instructors to train them. If digital learning can be demonstrated effective in augmenting knowledge and skills, this approach could help fill this gap and improve education efficiency. A needs assessment in two Nigerian midwifery schools confirmed that digital learning would be feasible and welcomed. In this study, the Midwifery Active Digitization Empowerment Initiative (MADE-I) program was tested to determine if digital delivery of the Fundamental Interventions, Referral and Safe Transfer (FIRST) course is at least equally effective for training midwifery students compared to conventional small-group delivery.MethodsA non-inferiority randomized controlled trial design was used, enrolling 130 s-year students from 2 midwifery schools in Benue State, Nigeria. Students were randomly assigned into six cohorts. Each cohort received half of the course on a Learning Management Platform on their mobile phones, the other half through standard small-group teaching. Students’ knowledge, thinking, and technical skills were assessed using a pre-test, post-test, Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE), and daily modular quizzes. The data was analyzed using the difference-in-difference method.ResultsThe study revealed that post-intervention student knowledge and thinking skills did not significantly differ between digital learning (75.26%) and small-group learning arms of the trial (75.02%, p = 0.404). Student knowledge improved significantly compared to the pre-test in both groups (by 25.03 points in the digital arm, 26.39, in small-group). Some differences were observed between digital and small-group learning in disaggregated analysis by specific module and midwifery school. Although there was a trend toward small-group learning of technical skills being more effective than digital learning, no significant differences between groups were observed in the post-intervention OSCE. Students in both groups learned equally well regardless of age, gender, and midwifery school entrance exam score.ConclusionDigital learning is as effective as small-group learning, for midwifery trainees, in augmenting knowledge, thinking, and technical skills addressed in the FIRST course, and have lighter human resource requirements, an important consideration especially in LMIC. However, similar assessments would be needed to assess effectiveness for other digitally delivered clinical education programs.

Ecological-Dynamic Approach vs. Traditional Prescriptive Approach in Improving Technical Skills of Young Soccer Players.

Background: This study contributes to expanding the existing literature on learning technical skills in youth soccer by comparing the effectiveness of different training approaches in the development of passing skills. The ecological-dynamic approach, which emphasizes the continuous and adaptive interaction between the athlete and the environment, is analyzed in comparison to the traditional prescriptive approach, which relies on predefined techniques and exercises. The aim of the study is to determine which of the two approaches is more effective in improving the performance of young soccer players. Methods: Thirty players (age 12 ± 1.2 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: the ecological-dynamic group (ECG) and a control group (CON). Both groups underwent an eight-week training program with equal sessions. The ECG group's training focused on adjusting constraints like the learning environment, game rules, and visual restrictions to boost adaptability and problem-solving skills. The CON group followed a traditional prescriptive approach with specific instructions, goal setting, immediate feedback, and structured exercise progression. Passing abilities were evaluated before and after the program using the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test, with a retention test administered five weeks later. Descriptive statistics, including mean values and percentage improvements, were used. A repeated measures ANOVA compared differences between the groups. Results: The analysis revealed a significant Occasion × Group interaction for all performance variables, indicating that the ECG group experienced greater improvements than the CON group. Specifically, the ECG group showed significant reductions in Trial Time (p = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.6), Penalty Time (p = 0.016, ηp2 = 0.4), and Overall Performance (p = 0.011, ηp2 = 0.8) from pre-test to post-test. However, these improvements did not persist into the retention test (p = 0.131, p = 0.792, and p = 0.192, respectively). The CON group also improved significantly in Trial Time (p = 0.003), Penalty Time (p = 0.002), and Overall Performance (p = 0.001) from pre-test to post-test, but with smaller effect sizes and no sustained gains at retention. Conclusions: The ecological-dynamic approach (EDG) has proven to be more effective in enhancing passing skills compared to the traditional prescriptive approach (CON). Although both methods led to performance improvements, the EDG group achieved more significant progress.

Veterinary students’ attitudes toward anesthesiology as a specialty

ObjectiveTo identify the perceptions of veterinary students interested in specialization regarding veterinary anesthesiology. Study designCross-sectional, multi-institutional, voluntary, anonymous, nonrandomized survey. PopulationVeterinary students (303 of 557 total respondents) from 10 veterinary schools. MethodsQuantitative data were obtained via 5-point Likert scale questions about anesthesia-related topics. Open-ended questions were used to obtain qualitative data. A multivariate logistic regression model assessed the likelihood of choosing a career as an anesthesiologist. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between ‘anesthesia is interesting’ and other variables. ResultsOf the respondents, 14 (6%) indicated veterinary anesthesia as their chosen specialty. There was a significant positive relationship between ‘anesthesia is interesting’ and the following variables: age, enjoyment in anesthesia class, belief in the importance of anesthesia for their career, belief in the importance of analgesia for their career, belief that anesthesia and analgesia have a large impact on patient care, interest in pharmacology, interest in physiology, interest in learning technical skills, belief that anesthesiologists are respected by their colleagues and belief that anesthesiologists are an important part of the health care team. More weeks on the anesthesia clinical rotation was positively and significantly associated with increased rotation enjoyment. Enjoyment in the anesthesia class [p = 0.001, Exp(β) = 2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3–3.4] and belief that anesthesia is interesting [p = 0.013, Exp(β) = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.2–5.4] were predictors that respondents would be more likely to consider a career as a veterinary anesthesiologist. ConclusionsThose veterinary students with an interest in pharmacology and who enjoyed their anesthesia course were more likely to consider a career as a veterinary anesthesiologist. If students indicated no interest in specializing in veterinary anesthesia, they appreciated the value the specialty brings to animal care and believed that veterinary anesthesiologists are respected by their peers.

OLDER ADULT VOLUNTEER AND PEER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCES COLLABORATING ON INTERVENTION RESEARCH

Abstract The final two speakers will present on their experiences, benefits, and challenges of collaborating on both trials described previously as an older adult volunteer coach or peer educator. One speaker is a DMFB Coach trained and certified in the DMFB intervention for depressed older adults, who delivered the intervention to five English-speaking older adults and is in the process of delivering the intervention to five Spanish-speaking older adults. One speaker is a Peer Educator for the hospital trial, trained and certified in a peer educator intervention for older adults after hospitalization, to support their transition and self-management at home. Each speaker will discuss their experiences delivering their respective interventions, including an overview of the training, certification, and supervision processes, as well as benefits and challenges. Benefits include the satisfaction of helping others, connecting with other coaches and peer educators, and learning technical skills and the intervention. Challenges have included technical issues related to virtual delivery, which are being overcome through technical assistance from the study teams; balancing the expectations of the program with other personal responsibilities, which are managed through discussion with supervisors and the study team being as flexible as possible, such as with scheduling; and occasional challenges with clients, which are addressed through regular and ad hoc supervision. The speakers will end with recommendations for other study teams that plan to work with older adults delivering behavioral interventions.

14-18 Yaş Yüzücülerde Başarı Algısı ile Antrenör Davranışı Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi: Ege Bölgesi Örneği

The aim of this study to examine the relationship between the perception of success and coaching behavior of 14-18 age swimming athletes living in Aegean region. A total of 114 swimmers participated voluntarily. The "Children’s Version of the Perception of Success Questionare" (POSQ-CH) and “Coach Behavior Scale for Sport” (CBS-S) was used. The analysis of the data was evaluated with the SPSS. POSQ-CH score was 49.03 (very high); sub-dimensions, "Ego Orientation" (EO) score is 22.17 (high) and the "Task Orientation" (TO) score is 26.85 (very high). CBS-S score is 262.35 (quite high); sub-dimensions scores are between 23.43 (very low)-50.95 (very high). According to gender, a significant difference in POSQ-CH and GO sub-dimension and TS, PR and NR sub-dimension scores of CBS-S (p<0.05). Similarly, a significant difference in the EO sub-dimension according to coach gender, in the POSQ-CH and GO according to swimming style and in the EO and TS according to sport age (p<0.05). No correlation between POSQ-CH and CBS-S and its sub-dimensions; however, a positive and moderate relationship between the closeness to team captain score and CBS-S. It was determined that the swimmers in the relevant age range had high perception of achievement and perception of coach behavior, and the athletes were more goal-oriented. It can be said that the coach's physical-mental preparation, positive behavior, providing technical skill learning, directing the athlete correctly in terms of goal expectation, helping to provide appropriate and optimum competition strategy and negative behavior are not related to the swimmers' perception of success.

Teaching transferable skills in teamwork, accountability, goal setting, writing, and problem-solving in a non-major microbiology lab: the unknown bacteria experiment redefined.

College to Career is a phrase that we often use to describe the skills and abilities that students should achieve while preparing for college and/or careers. To help prepare our students for their future careers, we developed a microbiology laboratory curriculum based on factors identified to improve college-to-career readiness. These factors include content knowledge, analyzing and interpreting data, accountability, goal setting, and teamwork. At the core of the design are inquiry and problem-based learning. This approach allows students to actively engage in the scientific process while collaborating with classmates and learning technical and transferable career skills. The curriculum includes microbiology laboratory skills, including plating, serial dilutions, and biochemical tests, with integrated opportunities for students to engage in critical thinking, analysis and interpretation of data, teamwork, goal setting, decision-making, and scientific writing.

Defining the Nature of Augmented Feedback for Learning Intraosseous Access Skills in Simulation-Based Health Professions Education.

In the field of health professions education, acquiring technical skills involves three stages: 1) receiving instructions, 2) engaging in practice, and 3) receiving feedback. Simulation serves as a valuable tool that encompasses all three stages, enhancing the effectiveness of health professions education. This work focuses on feedback, which can be categorized as intrinsic (perceived by the learner through their senses) or augmented (provided by an external perspective). Augmented feedback can take the form of knowledge of results (information regarding the outcome) or knowledge of performance (information about the actions leading to the outcome). The overall objective of this work was to evaluate the perceived efficacy of these types of feedback in learning technical skills using a simulation, specifically an intraosseous access simulator, among advanced care paramedics. The primary focus of this article and the initial step towards achieving the aforementioned objective of this work was to determine the possible knowledge of results and knowledge of performance that paramedic facilitators could offer to advanced care paramedics during the use of an existing intraosseous access simulator. This research was conducted following the design-based research framework, employing a combination of design thinking and Delphi methods to generate a comprehensive list of augmented feedback, in both the form of knowledge of results and knowledge of performance, that can be provided to advanced care paramedics while learning intraosseous access skills through a simulator. The design thinking session was carried out to generate an initial inventory of augmented feedback, which was then refined through two rounds of Delphi consensus-building with paramedic experts. This process resulted in an eight-step list of feedback for knowledge of results and knowledge of performance that can be delivered to advanced care paramedics by paramedic facilitators using an intraosseous access simulator.

Self-Regulated Video-Based Learning for Cultivating Surgical Skills: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

In recent decades, there has been a shift towards competency-based approaches in surgical training. The effectiveness of video-based learning (VBL) in enhancing surgical skills, particularly in the context of self-regulated learning (SR-VBL), was assessed in this study. While VBL is cost-effective, flexible, and can improve proficiency in technical skills prior to clinical practice, it is resource-challenging. SR-VBL includes many of VBL’s benefits but has utility in individual and distance settings due to its autarkic nature. This study identified and analyzed contemporary literature on SR-VBL using PRISMA guidelines, focusing on original randomized controlled studies published in international peer-reviewed journals during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2022. Seven studies with 462 participants were included, with three eligible for the meta-analysis. The results showed that self-regulated video-based learning contributes to the learning of technical skills and can be applied to learners of all levels across surgical specialties. The meta-analysis revealed that improvements in validated outcome assessment scores (OSATS) were at least equal to traditional methods with a statistically significant result, though the effect was modest. Therefore, contemporary surgical training could incorporate SR-VBL for technical training to help surgeons of all levels in surgical self-assessment.

NEO-SAFE: a clinical model forpatients andhealthcare personnel safety inprimary level hospitals.

Patient safety is a major concern in medicine. Approximately, 4 million infants die each year worldwide and 23% of these deaths are caused by perinatal asphyxia. To prevent the long-term damage of asphyxia, the resuscitation flowchart must be perfectly and promptly performed. However, high effectiveness in performing resuscitation can only be achieved and maintained if the algorithm is frequently executed. Therefore, maintaining a high level of patient care is difficult in some remote centres. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new organizational model of care-network between Hub & Spoke hospitals to improve both the safety of the newborns in hospitals with a low number of births and the well-being of operators. Our project, NEO-SAFE (NEOnatal SAFety and training Elba), began in 2017 and involved the neonatal intensive care unit and the NINA Center of the Pisa University Hospital (hub) and the Hospital of Elba Island (spoke). It consisted of a continuous training program, both with 'classic' training course and 'on-job tutoring' (on side and remotely), of the health workers at spoke (i.e. nurses, midwives, and paediatricians). All four milestones of the study design were achieved. During the project, NINA Center instructors organized training courses for the staff in Portoferraio. These courses were based on learning technical and non-technical skills in a training course of increasing difficulty. Staff training needs were also monitored during the project by means of periodic questionnaires, sentinel events, and specific requests. The curve described by the rate of newborns transfer to the Pisa neonatal intensive care unit (hub) shows a monotonous decreasing trend line. On the other hand, this project allowed operators to develop greater self-confidence and greater safety in managing emergency situations, reducing stress for them and improving patient safety. The project allowed the creation of a safe, effective, low-cost, and reproducible organizational model for centres with a low number of births. Moreover, the tele-medicine approach is an important improvement in the assistance and is a window on the future.

The effects of digitalisation on health and social care work: a qualitative descriptive study of the perceptions of professionals and managers

BackgroundToday, digitalisation is strongly present in health and social care, and it increasingly affects the organisation of work, work requirements, tasks and tools. Due to the constant change in work, up-to-date knowledge is needed about these micro-level effects of digitalisation and how professionals experience the effects in their work.Furthermore, even though managers play a key role in implementing new digital services, their perceptions of the effects of digitalisation and whether they match the views of professionals remain unknown. This study examined how health and social care professionals and managers perceive the effects of digitalisation on the work of professionals.MethodsWe used a qualitative approach and conducted eight semi-structured focus group interviews with health and social care professionals (n = 30) and 21 individual interviews with managers in 2020 in four health centres in Finland. The qualitative content analysis included both an inductive and a deductive approach.ResultsDigitalisation was perceived to have changed professionals’ 1) workload and pace, 2) the field and nature of work, 3) work community communication and interaction, and 4) information flow and security. Both professionals and managers identified effects such as accelerated work, reduction in workload, constant learning of technical skills, complicated work due to vulnerable information systems, and reduction in face-to-face encounters. However, managers did not bring up all the effects that professionals considered important, such as the creation of new work tasks, increased and duplicated work, or insufficient time to get acquainted with the systems.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that some of the effects of digitalisation on professionals’ work and changes in the workplace may receive too little or no recognition from managers. This increases the risk that the potential negative effects may be overlooked and that managers will adopt systems that do not support the work of professionals. To reach a common understanding of the effects of digitalisation, continuous discussions between employees and different management levels are required. This contributes to professionals’ well-being and adaptation to changes, as well as the provision of quality health and social services.

Characteristics, trends, and impact of immersive technologies in medical education: A bibliometric analysis

Introduction: in the realm of medical education, immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and the Metaverse are provoking a profound and fast shift. These technologies are fostering the development of essential professional competencies in healthcare. Nevertheless, conducting a systematic evaluation of the scientific output in this area and its impact on the learning process of health professionals is critical. Objective: to analyze the scientific production related to these technologies in medical education, identifying research trends and their impact on the learning of health professionals. Methods: a bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Scopus database until May 2023. VOSviewer software was employed to analyze the interaction among thesauri. Results: a total of 243 documents with 4600 citations were identified. The output on immersive technologies in medical education is emerging. The United States and Canada are the main producers, and an increase in international collaboration has been observed. The topics of greatest interest to authors were "humans," "virtual reality," and "education." The thematic areas identified were "primary studies designs," "technical skills training," "curricular proposals," and "computer sciences." Conclusions: there is a steady increase in the production and citations of research on immersive technologies, mostly originating from high-income countries. No clear areas of specialization have yet been identified, although studies are focused on integrating these technologies into the curriculum and on learning technical skills

Analysis of expert’s opinion of optimal beginning age for learning technical skills in water polo

Purpose: Optimizing the training process of young water polo players according to children's developmental characteristics and didactic principles is of pivotal importance; however, there is a lack of research in the area. Therefore, we sought to determine and explain the appropriate age for beginning of learning technical elements in water polo according to water polo experts’ coaches’ opinion. Methods: In accordance with the objective, 27 expert water polo coaches completed the newly constructed questionnaire designed for this study. Reliability of the measuring instrument was examined using test-retest method on the entire sample and it was found to be satisfactory (r ranged from 0.85 to 1.00 with P< .05 for all variables). Exploratory strategy of factor analysis together with Guttman-Kaiser criterion and varimax raw rotation were used to reduce dimensionality of the data. Results: The results indicate the existence of four real life existing factors: (1) Basic ball manipulation, basic shots and explosive movements; (2) Basic water polo movements and shots from the central forward position; (3) Complex movements, ball manipulation and shots; (4) Activity for the preparation and execution of the most demanding backhand shots 31%, 17%, 15%, 9% of the variability of manifest space, respectively. Conclusions: These results yield hitherto unseen insight into experts’ opinion on optimal age for beginning to learn complex water polo movements and can provide important guidance for trainers in structuring curriculum of the training process for all young water polo players. Keywords: water polo experts, technical elements, new teaching methodology, didactic principles, early specialization

Research on the Influence of Virtual Reality on the Learning Effect of Technical Skills of Science and Engineering College Students: Meta-Analysis Based on 32 Empirical Studies

Virtual reality technology (VR) has been widely used in education and teaching, but the results of a large number of experimental studies on the impact of VR on students’ technical skill learning are not consistent. In this study, a meta-analysis method was used to conduct in-depth quantitative analysis of 32 experimental or quasi-experimental research literatures based on virtual reality in the past 20 years. The results showed that: (1) virtual reality technology has a moderately positive effect on the learning of technical skills of science and engineering college students ( SMD = 0.363 ); (2) the effect of VR on cognitive strategies ( SMD = 0.487 ) was significantly greater than that of mental skills ( SMD = 0.275 ) for technical skills under different measurement dimensions. (3) Different test periods, previous experience levels, and auxiliary methods have different degrees of positive influence on improving students’ technical skills, among which the 40-60 minutes experiment period ( SMD = 0.484 ) has the greatest influence on the improvement of technical skills. According to the research conclusions, we suggest to make an overall planning for the construction of VR enabling teaching application scenarios and create a human-machine collaborative interactive teaching model of “theory+VR simulation+feedback” based on flow theory.

Assessing students' mental health in two American dental hygiene programs.

Dental hygiene students adapt to new environments while learning technical skills and providing clinical care during their education. Understanding how stress affects students in their professional healthcare program warrants exploration. This study assessed stress among dental hygiene students in two educational settings in the Southeastern United States. First and second-year dental hygiene students (N= 136) from a community college setting (n= 67) and a university setting (n= 69) were invited to complete an anonymous online survey on mental health in fall 2019. Validated surveys on depression, anxiety, social support, and burnout were included. Data analysis included chi-squared and Mantel-Haenszel statistics, depending on the scale of measurement, with the level of significance set at 0.05 for all analyses. Participants included 54 dental hygiene students from a community college (Response rate=80.6%) and 69 dental hygiene students from a university (RR=100%). There was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of students reporting moderately severe or severe anxiety (p = 0.007), with 56% (n= 30) of the community college respondents and 36% (n= 24) of the university reporting these anxiety levels. Students attending a community college were also more likely to express feelings of worry (n= 34) compared to students in a university setting (p =0.005). There was no statistically significant difference in depression (p= 0.07) or suicidal thoughts (p= 0.41). Dental hygiene students enrolled in these two programs reported high levels of self-reported stress, mental and emotional concerns that may increase suicidal tendencies.

TVET Student’s Perception on Digital Mind Map to Stimulate Learning of Technical Skills in Malaysia

Digital mind map is a digital tool that is becoming increasingly popular in today’s pedagogical visual aids. However, few empirical studies have been conducted regarding Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) student’s competencies on using digital mind map in learning of their technical subjects. Hence, this survey research was designed to investigate TVET student’s perceptions on the digital mind map to stimulate their learning of technical skills in Malaysian higher learning institutions. Specifically, the objectives of the study were to identify the TVET student’s perception regarding their digital mind map competencies and to examine the relationship between the usage of digital mind and their learning achievement of technical skills. A sample of 372 TVET students were randomly selected from several public TVET higher institutions in Malaysia. The online questionnaires were designed to measure the practice of digital mind map among TVET students. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and Pearson correlation. The questionnaire also included three open-ended items and the qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The key finding showed that the majority of TVET students have a positive perception towards the digital mind map. In addition, the main open-ended result illustrated that the digital mind map has a potential to stimulate creativity and design thinking among TVET students in Malaysia.

Authentic Integration of Ethics and AI through Sociotechnical, Problem-Based Learning

Growing awareness of both the demand for artificial intelligence (AI) expertise and of the societal impacts of AI systems has led to calls to integrate learning of ethics alongside learning of technical skills in AI courses and pathways. In this paper, we discuss our experiences developing and piloting the TechHive:AI curriculum for high school youth that integrates AI ethics and technical learning. The design of the curriculum was guided by the following pedagogical goals: (1) to respond to the capacity-building need for critical sociotechnical competencies in AI workforce pathways; and (2) to broaden participation in AI pathways through intentional instructional design to center equity in learning experiences. We provide an overview of the 30-hour learning sequence’s instructional design, and our “4D Framework,” which we use as a heuristic to help students conceptualize and inspect AI systems. We then provide a focused description of one of three 8-hour modules that make up the sequence. Finally, we present evidence of promise from an exploratory study of TechHive:AI with a small sample of students, and discuss insights from implementation, including from our use of established resources for AI learning within the learning sequence as well as those created by our team.

Analysis and Characterization of Student Interactions in a Remote Laboratory: Measurement of the Enthalpy and Entropy of Vaporization of n-Octane

A remote laboratory that measures the enthalpy of vaporization (ΔHvap°) and the entropy of vaporization (ΔSvap°) of n-octane was designed, constructed, and offered to second-year physical chemistry undergraduates at the University of New England (UNE) and Curtin University. The experiment was delivered in real-time, using equipment controlled remotely via the internet. A survey instrument was developed to investigate the learning process from the students’ viewpoint and was followed by focus group interviews. Guidance from the laboratory manual and from the visual hints available through the webcam was important for their learning and was used most frequently among all the interactions. The students were satisfied with the laboratory and would like to perform other remote experiments. Types of learning interactions, such as experiment construction and technical skill learning, could be partly achieved with support from technicians and the meticulous design of online guidance.

Integrating leadership into interprofessional non-acute care pediatric provider resuscitation training

Due to limited clinical exposure, non-acute care pediatric providers often rely on simulated experiences to maintain resuscitation skills. Few training options designed for the non-acute care setting exist, are often difficult to access, and lack incorporation of non-technical skills. The first five minutes (FFM) is a previously published curriculum designed to train non-acute care providers. The goal of this study was to determine the curriculum's effectiveness during a pilot intervention. A single cohort of multi-professional, non-acute care pediatric providers participated. The primary outcome skill was "establishing leadership," and secondary outcomes included other technical and non-technical skills. Learning of outcome skills was assessed using changes in retrospective pre-post self-assessment Likert scale scores. Differences were compared using paired t-tests and ANOVA. Thirty-seven participants submitted self-assessments. There was improvement in establishing leadership (pre-mean 1.14, post-mean 2.30, P < 0.01), and all other objectives studied. Compared to each other, subgroups of nurses, physicians, and respiratory therapists demonstrated significant differences in learning of technical skills, but similar improvements with non-technical skills. These findings suggest that the FFM curriculum is an effective tool for training non-acute care pediatric providers interprofessional resuscitation skills. Future research should assess provider behavioral changes, retention of training requirements, and patient outcomes. Traditional resuscitation education programs focus largely, or entirely, on performance of technical skills and algorithmic actions. However, non-technical skills, such as leadership, are crucial to the overall success of resuscitation efforts. The FFM program was developed to incorporate leadership principles into the resuscitation education of non-acute care pediatric inpatient providers, and this curricular evaluation suggests that improvements in participant leadership skills occurred due to the program.

167 Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Redesigned Simulation Programme for Final-Year Medical Students During their Assistantship Placement

The transition to a foundation doctor is often a daunting process for medical students and, to prepare for this, students attend an assistantship placement in the final months of medical school. The transition to foundation year 1 (TTF1) programme is an 8-week placement where students shadow a junior doctor, taking on a vocational role, and attend various teaching activities including high-fidelity simulation. Evidence suggests that medical students transitioning to clinical practice feel unprepared for working on-call, managing acutely unwell patients and task prioritization, and are often unprepared for scenarios requiring expert communication techniques We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a redesigned simulation programme for TTF1 students, focussing on student satisfaction, confidence and attitudes across key domains.Fifty-three TTF1 students attended a 1-day high-fidelity simulation training day, separated into cohorts of 10 students. Students completed a pre-course (In terms of confidence, there was an improvement across all core domains, namely diagnosing and managing acute medical emergencies (2.8 vs. 3.8), performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (3.0 vs. 3.6) and working effectively with colleagues in the interests of the patient (3.3 vs. 4.2). 96% of students found that simulation was a valuable learning experience, allowing them to integrate theory with practice. 94% of students felt that the simulation allowed them to analyse their behaviours and actions and 88% found that scenarios resembled real-world situations. Attitudes towards simulation were positive, with 92% of students agreeing that simulation is a good way of learning technical and non-technical skills. Qualitative themes focussed on the real-world applicability of the scenarios, increased confidence in task prioritization, closed-loop communication and early escalation.We have demonstrated the benefit of integrating simulation training within the assistantship period and the value of creating novel scenarios directly related to future practice as a junior doctor.

Are virtual physiology laboratories effective for student learning? A systematic review.

It is unclear if the transition from traditional, in-person physiology laboratories to virtual alternatives has educational impacts on students. This study used a systematic review to critically evaluate research papers that investigated the effectiveness of virtual physiology laboratories for student learning. Eleven studies, retrieved from the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and Ovid MEDLINE databases, were selected for inclusion in this review, based on predetermined eligibility criteria. Subsequently, the studies went through a power analysis for potential biases before their results were synthesized and analyzed. This systematic review found that virtual physiology laboratories are effective for students’ learning of concepts. However, it was inconclusive as to whether virtual physiology laboratories are effective for students’ motivation for learning and learning of technical skills. It was found that blended models of virtual laboratories are at least as effective as in-person laboratories for conceptual learning. Overall, this systematic review provides useful insights for educators regarding the educational impacts of implementing virtual laboratories into the physiology curriculum and suggests research models for future evaluation of virtual laboratories.