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Author Spotlight: Learning Systematic Bronchoscopy in a Simulation-Base Setting
Published on: June 23, 2023
Measuring learning gain during a one-day introductory bronchoscopy course
Henri G Colt1, Mohsen Davoudi, Septimiu Murgu
1Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of California, 333 City Drive West, Suite 400, Orange, CA 92868, USA. hcolt@uci.edu
Background:
Rigorous assessment of medical knowledge and technical skill inspires learning, reinforces confidence, and reassures the public. Identifying curricular effectiveness using objective measures of learning is therefore crucial for competency-oriented program development in a learner-centric educational environment. The aim of this study was to determine whether various measures of learning, including class-average normalized gain, can be used to assess the effectiveness of a one-day introductory bronchoscopy course curriculum.
Methods:
We conducted a quasi-experimental one-group pre-test/post-test study at the University of California, Irvine. The group comprised 24 first-year pulmonary and critical care trainees from eight training institutions in southern California. Class-average normalized gain, single-student normalized gain, absolute gain, and relative gain were used as objective measures of cognitive knowledge and bronchoscopy technical skill learning. A class-average normalized gain of 30% was used to determine curricular effectiveness. Perceived educational value using Likert-scale surveys and post-course questionnaires was determined during and 3 months after course participation.
Results:
Mean test scores of cognitive knowledge improved significantly from 48 to 66% (p = 0.043). Absolute gain for the class was 18%, relative gain was 37%, class average normalized gain
Conclusion:
The effectiveness of a one-day introductory bronchoscopy curriculum was demonstrated using a pre-test/post-test model with calculation of normalized gain and related metrics.
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