Context / probleemstelling of aanleiding

Context/probleemstelling of aanleiding:
In (medical) education, there is a high-velocity development of technological interventions to support students during their undergraduate and post-graduate studies. Besides this, we have noticed that students are looking for ways to learn outside of the traditional classes, and that they are actively using multimedia tools that can help them understand their learning materials. Examples of this can be seen in the increase of medical videos on YouTube, as well as many podcasts about medical topics. However, few studies identify how these multimedia methods influence students’ process of learning medicine.
Beschrijving van de interventie/innovatie:
In the UMCG, we have developed our own podcast series that helps medical students of all years of the bachelor to develop their clinical reasoning skills in cardiology. In this podcast series, students are guided through cases that are presented by a specialist-in-training and their supervisor. In the podcasts, the doctors ask students to pause every now and then to think about a topic or a question before continuing.
From word-of-mouth over the years, we have understood that students found the podcasts enjoyable, and we saw high engagement with it in the online learning environment. We developed an interest in the way that these podcasts shape the clinical reasoning process in students’ minds, as compared to when they read a normal textbook text. Therefore, we ran an experiment with third-year medicine students in which we used an Illness Script (IS) analysis. In the experiment, students wrote an IS: a text based on “Tell me everything you know about chest pain”, in an online individual environment. Then, they listened to two podcasts, or they read two texts about the same patients as in the podcasts. After this activity, they wrote a second IS based on the same prompt. Therefore, this study is a randomized controlled trial, comparing the use of podcasts and texts on IS development.
Ervaringen/analyse van de implementatie:
In the analysis, we qualitatively code the students’ IS. The results will present scores on a group-level, based on different clinical dimensions such as Epidemiology, Differential Diagnosis, Physical Examination and Therapeutic Plan. Such group scores will give insights in:
a) the most prominent and top-of-mind aspects of cardiology education in the UMCG per dimension (for instance: the group knows a lot about the patient history with chest pain, but very little about the physical examination findings), and;
b) the group-level development of IS in the podcast-group and the text-group.
With these results, we aim to improve both the cardiology education at the UMCG, as well as to better understand how podcasts can aid the development of clinical reasoning in medical education. Finally, we aim to use the IS method in further studies and educational activities to discover its potential in reflecting student’s knowledge.
Lessons learned (implicaties voor de praktijk):
At the moment of writing the abstract, we are in the analysis stage, which we aim to finish at the end of the year. The lessons learned will thus be presented later.
Referenties (max. 2):
Custers EJ. Thirty years of illness scripts: Theoretical origins and practical applications. Med Teach. 2015 May;37(5):457-62.
Kelly JM, Perseghin A, Dow AW, Trivedi SP, Rodman A, Berk J. Learning Through Listening: A Scoping Review of Podcast Use in Medical Education. Acad Med. 2022 Jul;97(7):1079-1085. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000004565