Lessons learnt from implementing blended 'integrated' learning into an undergraduate medical curriculum.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Traditional didactic teaching (TT) is a common method in medical education.
• Blended Integrated Learning (BIL) combines online and face-to-face instruction.
• Evaluating student perceptions of different teaching approaches is crucial for curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare Year 2 medical student perceptions of Blended Integrated Learning (BIL) versus Traditional Didactic Teaching (TT).
• To explore learner experiences with BIL and identify areas for improvement.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-method design utilizing a cross-sectional survey (n=111).
• Two focus groups to discuss BIL perceptions and brainstorm improvements.
• Comparison of student preferences between BIL and TT approaches.

Main Results:

• Students preferred BIL for knowledge retention (51% vs 35%) and applying basic sciences to patient cases (53% vs 30%).
• Students preferred TT for interaction (78% vs 11%), enjoyment (54% vs 32%), and faster understanding (49% vs 39%).
• Focus groups provided specific strategies for enhancing BIL engagement.

Conclusions:

• BIL is effective for knowledge retention and clinical integration in medical education.
• BIL's engagement aspects can be improved through enhanced online content, delivery, and technology.
• Student feedback is vital for optimizing blended learning approaches in medical training.