A Prospective Cohort Study Using e-Learning Modules as a Supplemental Teaching Resource for Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clerkship Students

Objective: Increasing enrolment in medical schools in Canada has necessitated the development of distributed clinical learning sites to provide appropriate clinical experience. The Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University has clinical clerkship sites distributed across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, with diverse educational exposures. This study was designed to examine the influence of online learning modules, developed to standardize learning across education sites during the clinical clerkship, on the acquisition of knowledge by medical students during their obstetrics and gynaecology clerkship rotation. Methods: The third year medical school class was divided into two natural cohorts for the purposes of this study. Group 1 had their obstetrics and gynaecology rotation from September 2012 to March 2013 (n = 54), and Group 2 had their rotation from April to September 2013 (n = 60). All students were given the opportunity to complete an online formative examination before their summative multiple choice examination; only Group 2 students had access to six obstetrics and gynaecology e-learning modules, upon which the formative examination was based. Results: Forty-seven students in Group 1 (87%) and 45 students in Group 2 (75%) completed the formative examination, with an overall participation rate of 81%. There was no difference in median scores between Group 1 (score 9, IQR 8 to 10) and Group 2 (score 9, IQR 8 to 11, P = 0.08). Conclusion: Having access to six e-learning modules did not improve the third year medical students' scores on a formative examination completed before their summative multiple choice examination.