The Implementation of Virtual Clinical Skills Teaching in Improving Procedural Confidence in ENT Trainees

Medical education has faced new challenges with the recent coronavirus pandemic. Traditional teaching methods for face-to-face learning have shifted towards the delivery of digital teaching. The difficulty arises in specialties, such as otorhinolaryngology, where clinical procedural skills are necessary for diagnosis and management. This article aims to determine the impact of a clinical skills video on the confidence of postgraduate ENT trainees when managing nasal fractures.

Postgraduate ENT trainees completed a baseline questionnaire, declaring their subjective confidence across 5 domains relating to nasal fractures using a 10-point Likert scale. They were then given a lecture, and this questionnaire was repeated. Lastly, trainees were shown a clinical skills video, and the questionnaire was repeated once more. The qualitative data was analysed using Kruskal-Wallis testing.

There was poor overall confidence in the management of nasal fractures prior to focused teaching. There was a marked statistically significant (P < 0.01) improvement in subjective confidence following the lecture intervention. There was further statistically significant improvement across all domains following the introduction of the clinical skills video.

This study confirms that clinical skills videos are a useful accessible learning tool in medical education. We advocate their use in the postgraduate setting, to mirror their current use in undergraduate medical education.