Web-based learning versus standardized patients for teaching clinical diagnosis: a randomized, controlled, crossover...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Skills Training
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• Limited evidence guides the selection of effective methods for teaching clinical diagnosis.
• Optimizing diagnostic skill acquisition is crucial for medical student development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of Web-based (WB) versus standardized patient (SP) programs for teaching clinical diagnosis skills.
• To assess student preferences and costs associated with WB and SP teaching formats.
• To inform best practices in clinical diagnosis education for medical students.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, controlled, crossover study compared WB and SP-based teaching for abdominal pain and headache diagnosis.
• Performance was evaluated using SP examinations, faculty checklists, and postencounter SOAP notes.
• Student preferences and costs (start-up and ongoing) were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Both WB and SP training yielded comparable performance on diagnostic checklists for abdominal pain and headache.
• WB training resulted in significantly higher scores on the Abdominal Pain SOAP note.
• Students overwhelmingly preferred the SP format, despite comparable start-up costs and lower ongoing costs for WB.

Conclusions:

• Web-based and standardized patient learning outcomes for clinical diagnosis are comparable.
• While students prefer standardized patient encounters, Web-based teaching offers a cost-effective alternative.
• Web-based clinical diagnosis training presents a viable and economical strategy for medical education.