Preliminary evaluation of the Web Initiative for Surgical Education (WISE-MD)

Major changes in health care delivery and financing have negatively impacted students' experience during the surgery clerkship, particularly their exposure to physicians' decision-making processes and to the continuity of patient care. In response to these dilemmas in surgical education, we have developed the Web Initiative for Surgical Education (WISE-MD), a comprehensive surgery clerkship curriculum delivered through multimedia teaching modules and designed to enhance exposure to surgical disease and clinical reasoning.

As part of the process of creating WISE-MD, we conducted preliminary studies to assess the impact of this computer-assisted approach on students' knowledge, clinical reasoning, and satisfaction.

Compared to students who did not view the modules, early data show a trend toward improved knowledge and an improvement in clinical reasoning for students who used the WISE-MD modules. This effect was specific to the clinical content area addressed in the module seen by the students. Most students felt the module was superior to traditional teaching methods and enhanced their understanding of surgical technique and anatomy.

WISE-MD, a theory-driven example of a concerted technology-based approach to surgical education, has the potential to address the myriad problems of today's clinical learning environment.