Preparation by mandatory E-modules improves learning of practical skills: a quasi-experimental comparison of skill examination results

Background: Until recently, students at UMC Utrecht Faculty of Medicine prepared for practical skills training sessions by studying recommended literature and making written assignments, which was considered unsatisfactory. Therefore, mandatory e-modules were gradually introduced as substitute for the text based preparation. This study aimed to investigate whether this innovation improved students' performance on the practical skills (OSCE) examination. Method: In both the 2012 and 2013 OSCEs, e-modules were available for some skill stations whereas others still had text based preparation. We compared students' performance, both within and between cohorts, for skill stations which had e-module preparation versus skill stations with text based preparation. Results: We found that performance on skill stations for which students had prepared by e-modules was significantly higher than on stations with text based preparation, both within and between cohorts. This improvement cannot be explained by overall differences between the two cohorts. Conclusion: Our results show that results of skills training can be improved, by the introduction of e-modules without increasing teacher time. Further research is needed to answer the question whether the improved performance is due to the content of the e-modules of to their obligatory character.