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How to improve medical students' ECG interpretation skills ? Multicenter survey and results of a comparative study
Corentin Chaumont1,2, Charles Morgat3, Pierre Ollitrault4
1Department of Cardiology, CHU Rouen, F-76000, Rouen, France.
Background:
Learning to interpret electrocardiograms (ECGs) is a crucial objective in medical education. Despite its importance, errors in ECGs interpretation are common, and the optimal teaching methods have not yet been clearly established.
Objectives:
To evaluate students' confidence in ECGs analysis and their opinion on current teaching methods, and to assess the effectiveness of a new ECG educational approach.
Methods:
First, we conducted a survey on ECG learning among fourth to sixth-year medical students. Second, a 5-week multicenter comparative study was conducted with fourth-year medical students during their cardiology internship. Two different teaching methods were used, assigned by center. The first group participated in 5-minutes workshops 4 times a week using a "reversed classroom" method, supervised by a cardiologist, where students took turns selecting, presenting and discussing ECGs. The control group attended a single 2-hour face-to-face ECG course. All participants completed a 30-minute ECGs analysis test at baseline and after 5 weeks.
Results:
Out of 401 survey respondents, the confidence levels in ECG interpretation were 3/5 (IQR 2-3) for routine situations and 2/5 (IQR 1-3) for emergency situations. Satisfaction with ECG teaching was low (2/5, IQR 1-3) and 96.3% of respondents favored more extensive ECG training. In the comparative study, 52 students from 3 medical schools were enrolled (control group: n = 27; workshop group: n = 25). Both groups showed significant improvement in exam scores from baseline to 5-week (33/100 ± 12/100 to 44/100 ± 12/100, p < 0.0001 for the control group and 36/100 ± 13/100 to 62/100 ± 12/100, p < 0.0001 for the workshop group). The improvement was significantly greater in the workshop group compared to the control group (+ 26 ± 11 vs. + 11 ± 6, p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Among French medical students who initially reported low confidence and insufficient skills in ECG interpretation, the workshop approach using a "reversed classroom" method was found to be more effective than conventional lecture-based teaching during cardiology internship.
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