Evaluation of a redesigned two-day trauma course incorporating blended learning compared with the traditional...

During the multidisciplinary Definitive Surgical and Anesthetic Trauma Care (DSATC) course, trauma specialists are trained to apply damage control principles to polytrauma patients. The course was redesigned in 2020 from a three-day, traditional format to a restructured two-day format combining online and traditional learning methods to enhance course quality and learning outcomes. Considering that learning opportunities on the work floor are scarce, continuous course evaluation is crucial to ensure benefits for medical professionals and their patients.

This retrospective non-inferiority study compared self-assessed confidence in technical and non-technical skills between a cohort in the traditional DSATC course and a cohort in the redesigned DSATC course. Self-assessed confidence ratings were collected through quantitative pre-course and post-course questionnaires. Mean changes in confidence ratings were calculated and compared using independent samples t-tests with a non-inferiority margin of -0.5. Sub-analyses investigated differences between participants of the same profession, between physicians with different levels of experience, and the influence of individual preparation on self-assessed confidence in skills before on-site training.

A total of 180 (21%) participants completed the pre-course and one-day post-course questionnaires completely. Both cohorts showed increased self-assessed confidence in skills following course completion, with the redesigned DSATC cohort demonstrating non-inferior improvements compared with the traditional cohort in general technical skills (mean difference (MD) 0.07, lower bound one-sided 97.5% confidence interval (CI) -0.14, p < 0.001 for non-inferiority) and in general non-technical skills (MD 0.09, lower bound one-sided 97.5% CI -0.09, p < 0.001 for non-inferiority). Self-assessed confidence in non-technical skills declined in the 2024 redesigned course group following individual preparation (MD -0.21, p = 0.042).

The redesigned format of the DSATC course is not inferior to the traditional model in improving self-assessed confidence in technical and non-technical skills. Exploratory findings suggest that individual pre-course preparation may be associated with greater awareness of learning needs and support self-directed learning. These results indicate that a traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to training might not fully address differences in learners' needs. Blended learning could support individualized learning pathways. Further research should investigate the effectiveness of such pathways in multidisciplinary trauma education and their relation to competence, clinical performance and patient outcomes.