Medical Students’ Perception on the Use of QR Code Versus Traditional Pen-and-Paper as an Attendance Record Tool in Medical School

Abstract

Background: Student attendance at teaching-learning sessions is traditionally registered using pen-and-paper. This method has many weaknesses: lost, hard to verify, attendance-by-proxy, late submission. The Quick-Response Code is a two-dimensional barcode that can be read with a QR reader on a smartphone that captures and instantly transmits information to a cloud storage. We describe the use of a QRC method to register medical students' attendance and assessed their perception of this method compared to PAP. Method: The attendance of 112 medical students in all teaching and learning sessions in internal medicine posting was registered either with QRC or PAP. A static QR code was generated using open source software online and linked to Google Document for storage of data registered. At the end of the posting, the students' perception was assessed using a 4-point Likert scale satisfaction survey. Results: 83 students participated in the survey (74% response rate). 100% owned a smart device and 91.6% had data connectivity. Compared to PAP, the QRC method was perceived to be more convenient, more accurate, more secure and more environment-friendly and preferred (all p < 0.05). The QRC method was not significantly faster than the PAP (p = 0.361). Conclusion: The QRC method was the preferred attendance record tool compared to the traditional PAP method. Its adoption in the closed and secure environment of a medical campus and hospital is feasible and should be explored.