Development of a tool for evaluating multimedia for surgical education

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Educational multimedia offers surgical trainees operative information outside the operating room.
• Research on multimedia effectiveness for learning is common, but tools for evaluating surgical multimedia quality are lacking.
• This study addresses the need for robust evaluation mechanisms in surgical multimedia education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and pilot a novel evaluation tool for surgical training multimedia.
• To establish the validity and reliability of the developed evaluation instrument.
• To stimulate discussion on evaluating the quality of multimedia in surgical education.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study with 12 participants was conducted.
• An existing tool was adapted and reviewed by experts in surgery, usability, and education for validity.
• Surgical trainees tested the tool's reliability by assessing a multimedia CD-ROM for basic surgical skills.

Main Results:

• The study yielded insights into surgical trainees' experiences with educational multimedia.
• Key findings relate to interface design, content characteristics, and the development process for evaluation tools.
• Appropriate assessment criteria were identified for evaluating surgical training multimedia.

Conclusions:

• The increasing integration of multimedia in medical education requires standardized quality assessment tools.
• There is a significant research gap in the development of tools for evaluating surgical multimedia.
• This work encourages further research and discussion on effective methods for evaluating surgical training multimedia.