Impact of basic medical writing workshop on case report writing by post-graduate anaesthesia trainees: A pilot study

Research is an integral component of medical education and practice. However, the art of medical writing remains neglected. Case report writing marks foray into the world of publications and presentations. We assessed and compared the impact of basic medical writing workshop about case report writing and their perception levels of confidence in these skills, among post-graduate anaesthesia students.

A needs assessment for medical writing skills was performed among all anaesthesia residents. A total of 20 students were enrolled in this study. The pre-workshop assignment consisted of writing one case report per participant within 30 days, followed by students' confidence assessment in these skills. A workshop on basic medical writing including analytical writing, scientific writing and plagiarism were conducted. Post-workshop a similar assignment was provided, followed by students' confidence assessment.

Moderate-to-high need for help was felt by 92.63% for analytical skills, 100% for scientific skills and writing without plagiarism, 95.78% for overall writing skills. For case report writing, the analytical and scientific writing significantly improved after the workshop (P = 0.01 and P = 0.016, respectively). There was a significant improvement in the students' confidence levels post-workshop in their analytical writing skills, avoiding plagiarism and overall writing capabilities (P = 0.02, P = 0.016 and P = 0.002, respectively).

Writing skills of participants and their confidence in these skills improved post-workshop.