Date of Presentation

5-4-2023 12:00 AM

College

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine

Poster Abstract

Objective: To explore interweaving visual, auditory, and tactical stimulus into traditional education methods to improve cardiac auscultation teaching outcomes.

Methods: A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted at our institution’s simulation center with 32 first year medical students from a single medical institution. Participants were randomly divided into two groups, and completed an educational module on identifying and understanding the pathophysiology of five common cardiac sounds. Participants in the control group (n=16) utilized traditional education methods, while the interventional group (n=16) incorporated visual, auditory, and tactical stimuli. Afterwards, participants listened to randomly selected cardiac sounds and competency data was collected through a multiple choice post-assessment in both groups. Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the data.

Results: A Mann-Whitney U test indicated that diagnostic accuracy was significantly improved for multisensory students (Mdn= 100%) than for control group students (Mdn= 60%) on the post-assessment exam (U= 73.5, p < 0.042). A Mann-Whitney U test also indicated that knowledge acquisition was significantly improved for multisensory students (Mdn= 80%) than for control group students (Mdn= 50%) on the post-assessment exam (U= 49, p < 0.031).

Conclusions: Auscultation competency significantly improved after supplementation of multisensory stimuli in the academic setting. Therefore, adopting a simplified multisensory approach to cardiac auscultation may provide a cheaper alternative to expensive simulators, and enhance provider competency leading to improved patient outcomes. It is recommended that future studies analyze outcomes from a larger sample size across multiple institutions, and assess long term retention rates.

Keywords

Auscultation, Medical Students, Diagnosis, Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures, Training Techniques

Disciplines

Diagnosis | Educational Methods | Health and Medical Administration | Medical Education | Medicine and Health Sciences

Document Type

Poster

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May 4th, 12:00 AM

Improvements in Cardiac Auscultation Utilizing Multisensory Learning in Medical Students: A Preliminary Study

Objective: To explore interweaving visual, auditory, and tactical stimulus into traditional education methods to improve cardiac auscultation teaching outcomes.

Methods: A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted at our institution’s simulation center with 32 first year medical students from a single medical institution. Participants were randomly divided into two groups, and completed an educational module on identifying and understanding the pathophysiology of five common cardiac sounds. Participants in the control group (n=16) utilized traditional education methods, while the interventional group (n=16) incorporated visual, auditory, and tactical stimuli. Afterwards, participants listened to randomly selected cardiac sounds and competency data was collected through a multiple choice post-assessment in both groups. Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the data.

Results: A Mann-Whitney U test indicated that diagnostic accuracy was significantly improved for multisensory students (Mdn= 100%) than for control group students (Mdn= 60%) on the post-assessment exam (U= 73.5, p < 0.042). A Mann-Whitney U test also indicated that knowledge acquisition was significantly improved for multisensory students (Mdn= 80%) than for control group students (Mdn= 50%) on the post-assessment exam (U= 49, p < 0.031).

Conclusions: Auscultation competency significantly improved after supplementation of multisensory stimuli in the academic setting. Therefore, adopting a simplified multisensory approach to cardiac auscultation may provide a cheaper alternative to expensive simulators, and enhance provider competency leading to improved patient outcomes. It is recommended that future studies analyze outcomes from a larger sample size across multiple institutions, and assess long term retention rates.

 

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