An online course to teach clinical reasoning skills: Students' perspectives and short-term outcomes

Background Currently, clinical reasoning (CR) skills are not explicitly taught in the MBBS curriculum. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of an online CR course for final-year MBBS students. Methods This was a single-group pre- and post-test study with 57 final-year MBBS students enrolled. Six groups were formed, and one or two faculty facilitators were assigned to each group. A structured format for CR was introduced to the students, and the sessions were designed so that students could sequentially practice the steps using specifically created case scenarios. The students' CR skills were assessed using a rubric before and after the course. Their confidence levels and perceptions about the course were also obtained. Paired T-test and the Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to assess before and after course differences in the CR abilities and confidence levels, respectively. A thematic analysis of the perceived beneficial aspects of the course and suggested improvements were also done. Results The post-course scores were significantly higher than the pre-course scores (p<0.001). The confidence levels of the students for each component of the structured framework for CR showed significant improvement (p<0.001). The structured format used during the course, group activities, case discussions, and the expertise of teachers and course structure were perceived as beneficial. This course could be introduced earlier in the MBBS course with a discussion of more case scenarios. Conclusions The online course improved confidence levels and CR abilities of the participants.