Friend or Foe? Flipped Classroom for Undergraduate Electrocardiogram Learning: a Randomized Controlled Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation is a critical yet challenging skill for medical students.
• Traditional teaching methods often struggle to effectively impart ECG interpretation proficiency within limited curricula.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the flipped classroom teaching method for undergraduate ECG learning.
• To compare the flipped classroom approach with Lecture-Based Learning (LBL) in improving ECG interpretation skills.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 181 junior medical undergraduates.
• Intervention group utilized a flipped classroom model; control group received LBL.
• Assessment included a 20-ECG interpretation examination and a questionnaire on student attitudes and learning time.

Main Results:

• Flipped classroom group achieved significantly higher ECG interpretation scores than the LBL group (P=0.000).
• Students in the flipped classroom spent significantly more time on pre-class preparation (P=0.000).
• No significant difference in post-class learning time or overall student attitudes between the groups was observed.

Conclusions:

• Flipped classroom teaching enhances medical students' interest and self-learning abilities in ECG interpretation.
• This teaching model is effective and warrants further research and promotion in medical education.