On the effectiveness of digital teaching of practical skills in curricular ENT education

Abstract

Background: Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the curricular courses at faculties of medicine had to be digitalized within a short time. This poses a particular challenge regarding the teaching of practical skills. Objective: To determine to what extent practical skills can be learned within the framework of a fully digitally implemented ENT mirror examination, the minimum number of teaching units (UE) required for competent execution, and the difficulty of the various examinations were identified. Materials and methods: During a period of 5 days of their ENT block internship, a total of 146 students learned six ENT mirror examinations in daily videoconferences. A subgroup (n = 48) was assessed formatively each day and the increase in performance was statistically analysed over the 5 days. On the fifth day, exams were carried out with the entire cohort. Results: Over the course of the 5 days, a significant increase in performance was observed in the various examinations. Based on the evaluation of the increase in performance in the subsections, examinations could also be classified as “simple” and “difficult.” Peak performance according to competence level 3a of the Nationaler Kompetenzorientierter Lernzielkatalog Medizin (NKLM) was achieved on day 4 after 5 UE had been completed. Conclusion: Practical skills can also be acquired through digital courses. Limitations result from the quality of the examination instruments and the diagnostic findings. Additionally, economical curriculum planning can be achieved by a suitable weighting of the focus of the examination.