Perceptual learning modules in undergraduate dermatology teaching.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Dermatology
• Digital Learning

Background:

• Dermatological diagnosis relies heavily on visual skills and implicit proficiency.
• Accurate identification of skin diseases requires strong visual diagnostic capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of digital perceptual learning modules (PLMs) in undergraduate dermatology education.
• To assess the impact of PLMs on medical students' learning and diagnostic skills for skin diseases.

Main Methods:

• 39 undergraduate dermatology students in Finland participated in the study.
• Online PLMs with diverse skin disease images were administered thrice during the course.
• Outcome measures included diagnostic accuracy, confidence ratings, response time, and feature identification.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements observed in diagnostic accuracy (66% to 94%), fluency (response time decreased), and confidence (2.5 to 4.3).
• Enhanced pattern recognition, feature diversification, and attention to localization and context.
• Students reported positive online functionality, increased motivation, and improved learning.

Conclusions:

• PLMs effectively enhanced diagnostic accuracy and learning outcomes in dermatology.
• Digital PLMs are easily integrated into curricula and show potential for improving visual skills in dermatology.
• The study supports wider adoption of PLMs in digital dermatology education.