An Integrated Interactive-Spaced Education Radiology Curriculum for Preclinical Students.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Radiology Training
• E-learning

Background:

• Problem-based learning (PBL) is a common medical curriculum.
• Assessing the impact of supplementary online education on radiology knowledge is crucial.
• Long-term retention of medical knowledge requires effective learning strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if a radiology module with online spaced education enhances radiology knowledge and retention in medical students.
• To compare the effectiveness of integrated problem-based learning (PBL) with and without online spaced education.

Main Methods:

• Second-year medical students were divided into control (PBL only) and experimental (PBL + online spaced education) groups.
• Radiology skills were assessed before, 4 weeks, and 7 months after the intervention.
• Statistical analysis compared knowledge improvement and retention between groups.

Main Results:

• Both groups showed knowledge improvement, but the experimental group had a significantly higher increase (P < 0.001).
• Long-term retention was observed in both groups, with the experimental group maintaining slightly better performance.
• A higher percentage of experimental group students felt their learning objectives were met (92% vs. 71%, P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Online spaced education combined with PBL effectively enhances radiology knowledge, self-assessment, and long-term retention.
• This blended learning approach improves student satisfaction with integrated educational modules.
• Further research is recommended to explore spaced education for remediation in medical training.