gms | German Medical Science

4th InVeST – International Veterinary Simulation in Teaching Conference

14.09. - 16.09.2015, Hannover

Evaluation of clinical skills training in veterinary education using audio-visual instructional animations and low-fidelity models

Meeting Abstract

  • corresponding author presenting/speaker Dora Bernigau - Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
  • author Maria Aulmann - Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
  • author Sebastian Schmalz - Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
  • author Christoph Mülling - Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany

InVeST 2015: International Veterinary Simulation in Teaching Conference. Hannover, 14.-16.09.2015. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2015. Doc15invest17

doi: 10.3205/15invest17, urn:nbn:de:0183-15invest176

Published: September 10, 2015

© 2015 Bernigau et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Outline

Text

Veterinary medical education in Germany conveys large quantities of theoretical knowledge in a densely packed curriculum. The acquisition of Day-One-Skills is recognized as an essential part of education but training opportunities for developing these essential clinical skills are rare in the Curriculum. Alternative teaching methods in form of clinical skills simulators provide good training opportunities for the students developing their practical skills.

Multimedia-based teaching materials have repeatedly been shown to serve as valuable learning tools. They are used with increasing frequency and intensity and their popularity among students is high. Among these especially audio-visual material can enhance veterinary students’ learning success in comparison to traditional linear ways of learning. Po“t”casts are audiovisual flash-animations originally composed for teaching anatomical topics (from formalin pot to po“t”cast”). In this study potcasts were developed to provide students a step by step information and instruction on a clinical skill.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the training of specific clinical skills using potcasts and low-fidelity simulation training.

Two instructional potcasts and two low-fidelity models of canine intubation and canine female urinary catheterization were used. In a crossover study design both, acquired psychomotor and cognitive skills of two intervention groups after a different theoretical preparation were compared. A survey captured the participants’ feedback. Sixty first year veterinary students were randomly allocated to two groups (potcast group and text group). For the same duration of time for preparation the potcast group watched a potcast while the text group read an instructional text which served as the screenplay of the potcast. Then both groups had separate self-directed training sessions on low-fidelity models. Outcomes were assessed in practical examinations on a cadaver using an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) checklist and written memory tests.

The potcast group performed significantly better in both OSCE and memory tests than the text group in study “intubation” (OSCE: p ≤ 0.004; memory tests: p ≤ 0.001) but no significant differences were observed in study “catheterization” (OSCE: p ≤ 0.762; short-term memory test: p ≤ 0.335; long-term memory test: p ≤ 0.662). Overall, participants enjoyed clinical skills training but experienced self-directed learning as challenging.

Clinical skills training using potcasts and self-directed low-fidelity simulation training are a good combination for students. However, they should be complemented by supervisor or peer instruction rather than used as exclusive tool for teaching first year veterinary students.