Comparison of the effects of burn assessment mission game with feedback lecture on nursing students' knowledge and skills in the burn patients' assessment: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Learning of burn patient assessment is very important, but heart-breaking for nursing students. This study aimed to compare the effects of feedback lecture method with a serious game (BAM Game) on nursing students' knowledge and skills in the assessment of burn patients. METHOD: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 42 nursing students in their 5th semester at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences School of Nursing and Midwifery, were randomly assigned to intervention (BAM game, available for two weeks) and control (feedback lecture method presented in two 90-minute sessions) groups. Two weeks after the intervention, all students were evaluated for their knowledge (using knowledge assessment test) and skills (using an Objective Structured Clinical Examination). Statistical analysis involved independent t-test, Fisher's exact test, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and univariable and multivariable ordinal logistic regression models. RESULTS: Following the intervention, the skill scores were 16.4 (SD 2.2) for the intervention group and 11.8 (SD 3.8) for the control group. Similarly, the knowledge scores were 17.4 (SD 2.2) for the intervention group and 14.7 (SD 2.6) for the control group. Both differences were statistically significant (P < .001). These differences remained significant even after adjusting for various factors such as age, gender, marital status, residence, university entrance exam rank, and annual GPA (P < .05). Furthermore, the BAM game group showed significantly higher skills rank than the feedback lecture group across most stations (eight of ten) (P < .05) in the univariable analysis. Multivariable analysis also revealed a significantly higher skills score across most stations even after adjusting for the mentioned factors (P < .05). These results suggest that the BAM game group had higher skills scores over a range of 1.5 to 3.9 compared to the feedback lecture group. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that nursing students who participated in the BAM game group exhibited superior performance in knowledge acquisition and skill development, compared to those in the control group. These results underscore a significant enhancement in educational outcomes for students involved with the BAM game, confirming its utility as a potent and effective pedagogical instrument within the realm of nursing education. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials: IRCT20220410054483N1, Registration date: 18/04/2022.

Transforming histology students from passive lecture listeners into active lecture learners.

Traditional academic lectures have long been criticized as providing a passive learning environment to students. Often, they do not capture the audience's attention, resulting in learners being distracted or bored and thereby reducing their learning efficacy. Consequently, they are being abandoned by many schools and universities as an educational modus or modified into more learner-centered experiences. This descriptive article outlines a strategy of inserting active learning PowerPoint slides into traditional histology lectures. Suggestions and advice for adding or improving existing active learning slides are being offered to readers, who are planning to modify their own lecture presentations. The author's experience of using this formative assessment strategy with different types of histology learners is also discussed.

Improving healthcare delivery at a district hospital through teaching interns - A short report.

Every district in Malawi has at least two doctors managing the social and healthcare needs of the local population. The medical doctors at the district are involved in administrative work and have minimal time for clinical practice. As such in most district hospitals, clinical officers (COs) form the backbone of patient care provision. These are cadres that have a 3-year training in clinical medicine; they work side by side with medical assistants (MAs) and nurses. Apart from the Ministry of Health (MoH) workforce, the Department of Family Medicine (FM) of Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS) has its main district site at Mangochi. Family physicians and residents from FM department assist in provision of mentorship and teaching to other cadres. Work-based learning requires various strategies and approaches. The experience reported here involves deliberate mentorship and support to enhance the learning of other cadres. Family medicine residents learn through the active participation in these sessions to become future consultants and leaders in primary health care.

The role of social inequalities in the epidemiology of urological cancers: can this inform cancer screening?

Health inequalities are systematic and potentially remediable differences in health across populations. Understanding the origins of these discrepancies, the healthcare consequences and the manifestations of related diseases can help improve the outcomes of underserved communities. Here I discuss how social factors may be used to help identify particular at-risk populations with regards to urological malignancies, and how these can be potentially used as biomarkers that inform cancer screening targets.

Breaking down barriers and building up facilitators of lecture free curriculum in medical education: An interpretive structural modeling.

INTRODUCTION: The field of medical education has seen a growing interest in lecture free curriculum. However, it comes with its own set of challenges and obstacles. In this article, we aim to identify the prerequisites, facilitators, challenges, and barriers of lecture-free curriculum in medical education and examine their interrelationships using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique. METHODS: In this mixed-method study initially, we performed a scoping review and semi-structured interviews and determined the main prerequisites, facilitators, challenges, and barriers of lecture-free curriculum in medical education using qualitative content analysis approach. The interrelationships among these components were investigated using ISM. Therefore, self-interactive structural matrices were formed, initial and final reachability matrices were achieved, and MICMAC analysis was conducted to classify the factors. RESULTS: Finally, two ISM models of prerequisites and facilitators with 27 factors in 10 levels and challenges and obstacles with 25 factors in eight levels were developed. Each of the models was divided into three parts: key, strategic, and dependent factors. 'Providing relevant evidence regarding lecture free curriculum' emerged as the most important prerequisite and facilitator, and 'insufficient support from the university' was identified as the most critical barrier and challenge. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the significant importance of lecture-free curriculum in medical education and provides insights into its prerequisites, facilitators, challenges, and barriers. The findings can be utilized by educational managers and decision-makers to implement necessary changes in the design and implementation of lecture-free in medical education, leading to more effective improvements in the quality and success of education.

A Partially Flipped Physiology Classroom Improves the Deep Learning Approach of Medical Students.

This study aimed to compare the impact of the partially flipped physiology classroom (PFC) and the traditional lecture-based classroom (TLC) on students' learning approaches. The study was conducted over five months at Xiangya School of Medicine from February to July 2022 and comprised 71 students majoring in clinical medicine. The experimental group (n = 32) received PFC teaching, while the control group (n = 39) received TLC. The Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) was used to assess the impact of different teaching methods on students' learning approaches. After the PFC, students got significantly higher scores on deep learning approach (Z=-3.133, P<0.05). Conversely, after the TLC, students showed significantly higher scores on surface learning approach (Z=-2.259, P<0.05). After the course, students in the PFC group scored significantly higher in deep learning strategy than those in the TLC group (Z=-2.196, P<0.05). The PFC model had a positive impact on the deep learning motive and strategy, leading to an improvement in the deep approach, which is beneficial for the long-term development of students. In contrast, the TLC model only improved the surface learning approach. The study implies that educators should consider implementing PFC to enhance students' learning approaches.

Empowering Students to Create Their Dramatizations Increases Understanding of Physiology.

Complex subjects such as physiology can be challenging for students to learn. These challenges are not uncommon in implementing learning process in physiology and affect learning outcomes. Dramatization is an interactive and effective method to improve learning outcomes. In a project designed by senior medical students, junior medical students were guided in creating dramatizations related to three topics. Senior students were trained and assisted to prepare scenarios and making videos. The dramatizations were then carried with junior medical students to help them better understand physiology and pathophysiology topics. A group of junior students receiving the same topics in a lecture format served as a control group. Pre-test and post-test questionnaires were used to measure the improvement of learning outcomes. Assessment results showed an increase in performance in both groups. This study shows that dramatizations provide an effective alternative to lecture for instructing junior medical students.

Application of lecture-and-team-based learning in stomatology: in-class and online.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate stomatological students' learning efficacy and their attitude towards Lecture-Team-Based Learning (LTBL) on topics regarding the design of removable partial dentures via in-class, online, and both in combination. METHODS: Students from seven distinct grades participated in the course in their fourth academic year (Years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021). Students of Years 2015-2019 attended in-class LTBL, students of Year 2020 attended online LTBL, and students of Year 2021 attended the combination mode. The scores of three examinations were compared, namely, individual readiness assessment test, team readiness assurance test, and individual application test. Visual Analog Scales (VAS) were used for students to self-assess their mastery of prosthodontics knowledge before and after the course. Anonymous questionnaires were delivered to evaluate their satisfaction with LTBL via a Likert scale. RESULTS: In each academic year, the three exam scores were significantly improved as the course progressed and VAS-post scores were significantly higher than VAS-pre scores. The three examination and VAS scores of students in Year 2020 were significantly lower than those in Years 2019 and 2021. Students were highly satisfied with the LTBL course based on the three parameters of knowledge acquisition, teamwork, and classroom atmosphere. CONCLUSION: Students were highly satisfied with the LTBL course and their learning performance was improved as the course progressed both in-class and online. Online LTBL could be adopted when students have to study online, while in-class LTBL could perform better when combined with video records of an online LTBL course.

Changes in Pharmacy Students' Awareness of Hepatitis B Patients through Patient Lectures as Humanity Education: Findings from Questionnaire Surveys of Face-to-Face and Simultaneous Remote Classes.

In 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic made social distancing compulsory. In patient lectures by hepatitis B patients (Patient Lectures)-a humanity education initiative that had traditionally been delivered face-to-face to assembled students-it was necessary to divide the students into two groups, one that attended the Patient Lectures in person (face-to-face group) and another that assembled in a separate room to view the delivered lecture simultaneously and remotely via a teleconferencing platform (remote group). To investigate possible changes in students' awareness of hepatitis B patients before (pre-) and after (post-) the lecture that year, the face-to-face and remote-attendance groups were analyzed separately. The participants were 203 fourth-year students belonging to the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Japan's Setsunan University, whose pre-clinical education curriculum prior to pharmacy practice experience included a Patient Lecture. The students were divided into two groups based on their student-ID numbers. Survey questionnaires were completed anonymously before and after the Patient Lecture. The students' awareness of hepatitis B patients' experience changed significantly after attending the Patient Lectures; this change was similar in both the face-to-face and remote-attendance groups. Regarding the possibility of hepatitis B virus infection, the remote group selected fewer answers implying strong convictions than did the face-to-face group, and both groups perceived several issues incorrectly. Although slight differences were observed between the two groups, the changes before and after the lectures were similar, indicating that humanity-education lectures are worthwhile not only when delivered in face-to-face contexts but also when delivered and viewed remotely within a class setting.

Comparing two teaching methods based on concept map and lecture on dental students' knowledge and performance of post-exposure prophylaxis to hepatitis B: A quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Dental students are at high risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection during clinical activities. Therefore, preventive measures are essential after exposure to the HBV. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the concept map and the lecture methods on dental students' knowledge and performance regarding hepatitis B post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) after possible exposure to the HBV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 70 dental students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Subjects were categorized into two groups, each receiving either the concept map or the traditional lecture methods. After the interventions, dental students' knowledge and performance were measured by a researcher-made questionnaire. RESULTS: The statistical analysis showed significantly higher knowledge and performance in the concept map group compared to the lecture group (P = 0.030 and P = 0.022, respectively). Although both groups' knowledge and performance decreased after the six-month intervention, the second group who received the lecture method showed more decline in knowledge and performance (P = 0.041 and P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Both the concept map and lecture methods have proved to be effective ways of improving the knowledge and performance of dental students. However, the present study revealed that the concept method was more effective on dental students' knowledge and performance regarding preventive measures after exposure to HBV. Thus, the concept map method is recommended for informative and educational purposes.

A comparison between the lecture and self-study methods on female students' awareness and attitudes about text neck syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Text Neck Syndrome (TNS) is a common issue in the neck. The emergence of such issues makes it more pressing to offer ergonomic training to prevent their consequences. The present study aimed to compare training through the lecture and Self-Study methods awareness and attitudes about the TNS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted on 94 female high-school students in 2021, and a quasi-experimental methodology was implemented. The participants were randomly divided into a lecture method and a self-study group. A researcher-made questionnaire was utilized for data collection to measure the participants' attitudes and awareness. The data were analyzed according to descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULT: The findings showed that the mean post-test scores of the participants' awareness in the lecture method and self-study groups were 8.74 and 5.83, respectively, and a significant increase was observed in the post-test scores of the lecture method group. However, no significant difference was observed between the pre-test and post-test attitude scores of the two groups. CONCLUSION: As training by the use of the lecture method in a webinar format has the characteristics of a traditional and online educational simultaneously, it offers an advantage that can be utilized in educational institutions as a complementary (or even an independent) method. Moreover, the experts in medical informational sciences need to accompany training groups as they are responsible to select and prepare credible content materials for audiences.

Factors affecting Saudi medical students' engagement during synchronous and asynchronous eLearning and their impacts on the students' academic achievement: a national survey.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, electronic learning (eLearning) has become a necessity in education. eLearning can be either synchronous, where classes are conducted in real-time, or asynchronous, where students can access the class material at any time. Student-instructor interaction has become essential to the educational process. In the literature, most studies have focused on the preferred methods of eLearning and the barriers to interaction in eLearning. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the factors that affect students' interactions during eLearning and their impacts on students' academic achievements. METHODS: A national cross-sectional study was conducted among clinical and pre-clinical medical students who were attending universities in five regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using a bespoke online self-administered questionnaire covering sociodemographic features, eLearning barriers, preferences, and the impact of eLearning on students' performance and understanding. RESULTS: This study involved 1371 medical students, of whom 52.37% were male and 51.13% were in their pre-clinical years of medical college. Of the participants, 59.88% (n = 821) preferred synchronous modalities of eLearning, and 33.33% (n = 457) avoided interaction during synchronous lectures. The main predictors of avoiding interaction during online lectures were being male in the clinical years of medical studies, being in a quiet atmosphere, having difficulties using the eLearning platform, having a poor internet connection, having a visual learning style, being insecure, and the presence of opposite-sex students and facilitators. In addition, 12.25% students (n = 168) reported a lower grade point average (GPA), whereas 11.96% (n = 164) reported an improved GPA after eLearning compared with in-person/onsite learning sessions. The GPA fluctuation was related to gender, personality type, learning style, interaction, and eLearning modality preference. Moreover, the students' understanding was enhanced by recorded lectures (n = 1,093, 79.72%) and supportive multimedia (n = 1,037, 75.64%), and the easy to use platform (n = 1037, 75.64%). CONCLUSION: The synchronous modality of eLearning was the preferred teaching method among the medical students. However, multiple individual, technical, and environmental factors affected their interaction, performance, and understanding during these sessions. Hence, future interventional research is recommended to overcome interaction barriers and enhance student performance and understanding of eLearning.

Comparison of the impact of team-based learning and lecture-based learning on nursing students' core competencies: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: This study aims to evaluate the effect of team-based learning on the core competence of nursing students compared with traditional teaching methods. BACKGROUND: In recent years, team-based learning has been widely used as a learning and teaching method in the world. Not only the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes, but also the core competence is necessary to cope with various clinical situations for nursing students. However, the effect of this new teaching method on core competence of nursing students is not consistent. DESIGN: The study was designed according to the preferred reporting entries guidelines statement for systematic reviews and meta-analyses and population, intervention, comparison, outcome and study. METHODS: Data were collected from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Scopus. The quality of studies was assessed using "The Newcastle Ottawa scale". A random-effect model of meta-analyses was conducted to generate pooled standardized mean differences (SMD) for core competence using Rev Man 5.4.1 software and STATASE 15. Moreover, subgroup, heterogeneity, sensitivity and publication bias analyses were conducted. RESULTS: A total of 14 articles with 1942 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with the traditional pedagogy among nursing students, team-based learning pedagogy significantly increased theoretical performance, professional effects (self-directed learning ability and communication ability) but did not affect practice skills. In addition, one study found that learning attitudes were not improved in students with high or low academic performance. This might mean that the teaching model should be implemented for a long time, which essentially changed students' learning attitudes to improve students' self-directed learning ability and core competence, especially for students with low scores. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, findings indicated that team-based learning pedagogical approaches might be beneficial to improve teaching quality in nursing education. However, practice skills might not be sensitive to team-based learning because of the seriation of the original course. Nursing educators need to explore teaching strategies to cultivate high-quality nursing talents to cultivate nursing students with core competence and ensure that they are successfully qualified for new employment.

Hybrid atrial fibrillation ablation.

In this state-of-the art review on hybrid atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation, we briefly focus on the pathophysiology of AF, the rationale for the hybrid approach, its technical aspects and the efficacy and safety outcomes after hybrid AF ablation, both from meta-analyses and randomized control trial data. Also, we performed a systematic search to provide a provisional overview of real-world hybrid AF ablation efficacy and safety outcomes. Furthermore, we give an insight into the 'Maastricht approach', an approach that allows us to tailor the ablation procedure to the individual patient. Finally, we reflect on future perspectives with the objective to continue improving our thoracoscopic hybrid AF ablation approach. Based on the review of the available literature, we believe it is fair to state that thoracoscopic hybrid AF ablation is a valid alternative to catheter ablation for the treatment of patients with more persistent forms of AF.

Impact of familiarity with the format of the exam on performance in the OSCE of undergraduate medical students - an interventional study.

BACKGROUND: Assessments, such as summative structured examinations, aim to verify whether students have acquired the necessary competencies. It is important to familiarize students with the examination format prior to the assessment to ensure that true competency is measured. However, it is unclear whether students can demonstrate their true potential or possibly perform less effectively due to the unfamiliar examination format. Hence, we questioned whether a 10-min active familiarization in the form of simulation improved medical students´ OSCE performance. Next, we wanted to elucidate whether the effect depends on whether the familiarization procedure is active or passive. METHODS: We implemented an intervention consisting of a 10-min active simulation to prepare the students for the OSCE setting. We compared the impact of this intervention on performance to no intervention in 5th-year medical students (n = 1284) from 2018 until 2022. Recently, a passive lecture, in which the OSCE setting is explained without active participation of the students, was introduced as a comparator group. Students who participated in neither the intervention nor the passive lecture group formed the control group. The OSCE performance between the groups and the impact of gender was assessed using X2, nonparametric tests and regression analysis (total n = 362). RESULTS: We found that active familiarization of students (n = 188) yields significantly better performance compared to the passive comparator (Cohen´s d = 0.857, p < 0.001, n = 52) and control group (Cohen´s d = 0.473, p < 0.001, n = 122). In multivariate regression analysis, active intervention remained the only significant variable with a 2.945-fold increase in the probability of passing the exam (p = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: A short 10-min active intervention to familiarize students with the OSCE setting significantly improved student performance. We suggest that curricula should include simulations on the exam setting in addition to courses that increase knowledge or skills to mitigate the negative effect of nonfamiliarity with the OSCE exam setting on the students.

Interactive Quiz-Based Anatomy Teaching for Medical Undergraduate Students.

BACKGROUND: Anatomy is one of the most volatile subjects and needs the learner to understand and retain a lot of information and terms. It is thus very important to continuously upgrade the methodology from the traditional didactive to interactive teaching to make the student an active learner and engage him in the learning process to categorize and analyze anatomical facts and knowledge. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The study was done to compare the learning outcomes and perception of medical students towards didactic lectures and interactive quiz-based lectures in anatomy. METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted amongst the 200 Year 1 medical undergraduate students enrolled in the Department of Anatomy at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, located in Lucknow, India. The 200 students comprised 120 males (60%) and 80 females (40%). The mean age of male students was 19.67 years and of females was 19.52 years. The students were divided into two groups of hundred students each by a method of convenience sampling. Students of group I were taught by an interactive quiz-based lecture and group II by a traditional didactic lecture. A pre- and post-test were conducted for both groups and feedback for both methods was taken by using a pre-validated feedback form based on a 5-point Likert scale. RESULTS: On statistical analysis, it was found that in the post-test the performance of group I taught by the interactive quiz-based study was better as compared to group II taught by traditional didactive teaching, but was not statistically significant (p=0.233, p>0.05). The feedback from students revealed that 45.9% of them strongly agreed and 44.9% agreed with the fact that quiz-based lectures are better than routine lectures. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the present study clearly indicate that the introduction of quiz-based anatomy teaching for undergraduate medical students was well received and appeared to improve their learning outcomes in the form of increased attention and participation during class and would lead to better retention of the topics taught during interactive lectures. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has been done to document the efficacy of quiz-based teaching for the subject of anatomy.

Pharmacogenomics education strategies in the United States pharmacy school curricula.

BACKGROUND: Clinical pharmacogenomics is an expanding area in healthcare that relies heavily on pharmacists for advocacy and implementation. To support pharmacists' significant roles in clinical pharmacogenomics, pharmacy schools and colleges in the United States (US) have strived to incorporate pharmacogenomics education into their curricula, and various teaching strategies have been employed in recent years to meet pharmacogenomics educational outcomes. The six major strategies reported in the literature are described and compared in this review, which culminates in a proposed longitudinal curriculum design for pharmacogenomics education. METHODS: Publications focused on pharmacogenomics education to pharmacy students within the US in the past decade were evaluated and summarized. RESULTS: The major education strategies that have been studied are didactic lecture, personal genotyping or personal genomic testing, simulation laboratory activity, interprofessional education, practice-based activity such as clinical rotation, and combinational courses. Strengths and limitations of each teaching strategy are summarized and discussed. IMPLICATIONS: Based upon each education strategy's strengths and weaknesses, the authors propose a longitudinal curriculum design to ensure that pharmacogenomics is taught multiple times to pharmacy students with diverse formats and teaching objectives conducive to long-term knowledge retention and practice readiness. Through this longitudinal curriculum design, pharmacy graduates will be well equipped to lead clinical pharmacogenomics in practice.

Educational interventions for promoting sexual and reproductive health in school counselors: a three-arm, randomized control trial comparing lecturing, buzz group and role-play.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: School-based sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education is often reported as being inadequate and/or inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate the educational interventions for promoting SRH in school counselors and compare the results in three groups: lecturing, buzz group and role-play. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An intervention quasi-experimental design was employed to evaluate the usefulness of educating SRH topics by using interactive teaching methods for 120 school counselors. Changes in the participants' knowledge, attitudes and self-efficacy toward SRH education were evaluated by each group using a pretest and a posttest. RESULTS: The results of this study revealed that 75% of counselors deemed SRH training vital and felt that the best SRH educators are health care providers and the reason might be their lack of educational skills. They also stated that the most significant barriers to education in schools include concerns about parental feedback and lack of appropriate abilities. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that the use of all three methods (lecturing, buzz groups and role-play) in SRH training improves the level of knowledge, attitude and self-efficacy; although role-play could have been more effective than lecturing in improving counselors' knowledge.

Mastering Our Own Magic in the Evolution Toward Precision Practice.

Edelle (Edee) Field-Fote, PT, PhD, FASIA, FAPTA, the 54th Mary McMillan lecturer, is director of the Shepherd Center Spinal Cord Injury Research Program & Hulse Laboratory; professor in the division of physical therapy at Emory University School of Medicine; and professor of the practice in the school of biological sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In her role as the director of spinal cord injury (SCI) research at Shepherd Center, Field-Fote leads a team dedicated to improving motor function in people with SCI through the development of neuromodulation and neurorehabilitation approaches informed by the latest neuroscience research and guided by outcomes that have meaning for people with SCI. With a clinical background as a physical therapist, PhD training in a preclinical model of SCI, and postdoctoral training in motor control physiology, her 25-plus years of SCI research have spanned the breadth of basic and clinical/translational research related to SCI. Dr Field-Fote has conducted randomized clinical trials with funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1997; other clinical trials in her lab have been funded by the Department of Defense, the National Institute on Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, and numerous foundations. Field-Fote is the recipient of multiple honors from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and its components. She is a Fellow of APTA and a Fellow of the American Spinal Injury Association. She has also served in numerous APTA and APTA component appointed or elected positions and as a member and president of the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research Board of Trustees.

Effectiveness of using 2D atlas and 3D PDF as a teaching tool in anatomy lectures in initial learners: a randomized controlled trial in a medical school.

BACKGROUND: Anatomy is a crucial part of medical education, and there have been attempts to improve this field by utilizing various methods. With the advancement of technology, three-dimensional (3D) materials have gained popularity and become a matter of debate about their effectiveness compared to two-dimensional (2D) sources. This research aims to analyze the effectiveness of 3D PDFs compared to 2D atlases. METHODS: This study is a randomized controlled trial involving 87 Year-1 and Year-2 medical students at Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Turkey. The study was conducted in two steps. In Step-1, students were randomized to watch lecture videos on liver anatomy and male genitalia anatomy supplemented with either a 3D PDF (intervention group) or 2D atlas (control group) images. Following the video lectures, a test (immediate test) was administered. In Step-2, the same test (delayed test) was administered 10 days after the immediate test. The test scores were compared between the intervention and control groups. In addition to the descriptive analyses, Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed. RESULTS: In the immediate test, while there was no significant difference between the groups for the liver test (p > 0.05), 3D PDF group's scores (Median = 24.50) was significantly higher than the 2D atlas group's in the genitalia test (Median = 21.00), (p = 0.017). The effect size (Cohen's d) was 0.57. In the delayed test, there was no significant difference between the groups in the liver and genitalia tests (p > 0.05). However, the effect size in the immediate genitalia test was 0.40. Year-1 students' immediate test of genitalia performances were significantly higher in the 3D PDF group (Median = 24.00) than the 2D atlas group (Median = 19.00), (p = 0.016). The effect size was 0.76. Also, Year-1 students' 3D PDF group (Median = 20.50) presented with significantly higher performance than the 2D atlas group (Median = 12.00), (p = 0.044) in the delayed test of genitalia, with the 0.63 effect size. CONCLUSION: 3D PDF is more effective than 2D atlases in teaching anatomy, especially to initial learners. It is particularly useful for teaching complex anatomical structures, such as male genitalia, compared to the liver. Hence, it may be a valuable tool for medical teachers to utilize during lectures.