Visual Learning in Electrocardiography Training for Medical Residents: Comparative Intervention Study.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cardiology
• Diagnostic Skills

Background:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation is a critical skill for medical professionals.
• Traditional didactic lectures often fall short in developing accurate 12-lead ECG interpretation abilities.
• Medical residents face persistent challenges in mastering ECG interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of three instructional strategies for improving ECG interpretation skills.
• To evaluate traditional didactic lectures, self-drawing, and a self-drawing with flipped classroom (SDFC) approach.
• To assess these methods in first-year postgraduate (PGY-I) medical residents.

Main Methods:

• A pilot educational program involving 76 PGY-I residents over 3 years.
• Randomization into three groups: conventional control, self-drawing, and SDFC.
• Knowledge assessment using pre- and posttests via questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Groups utilizing self-drawing (with or without flipped classroom) showed superior performance on summative examinations.
• Self-drawing effectively integrates theoretical knowledge with practical ECG interpretation.
• Enhanced recognition of ECG patterns was observed.

Conclusions:

• Self-drawing approaches show promise in improving ECG interpretation skills.
• These methods may address limitations of traditional classroom teaching.
• Further validation in larger cohorts is recommended for routine integration.