Comparison of video demonstrations and bedside tutorials for teaching paediatric clinical skills to large groups of medical students in resource-constrained settings

Videos are increasingly being used for teaching clinical skills in medical education. However, most reports on the effectiveness and benefits of videos in medical teaching have come from developed countries. Resource constraints in South African academic hospitals, together with increasing numbers, may apply pressure on the standard of clinical teaching. This study investigated the potential for using video demonstrations to replace the bedside teaching of introductory paediatric clinical examination skills to large groups of medical students. Sixty medical students were randomised to an experimental group that watched a video of a paediatric abdominal examination or to a control group that received a bedside tutorial on the same topic. Immediately afterwards, experienced assessors observed and scored the students in a clinical examination. Data were analysed for the non-inferiority of the video group scores within a 10% margin of the bedside group. Students’ and clinician educators’ perceptions of the two teaching methods and their views on how video instruction could be integrated into the clinical teaching programme were explored. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. The video teaching was non-inferior to the bedside teaching within the 10% margin and did not significantly affect the pass/fail or distinction rates. Students and clinician educators suggested that the videos be used for teaching basic concepts, allowing bedside tutorials to focus on applied learning. The findings have important implications for using video demonstrations to supplement the teaching of clinical skills to large groups of medical students across multiple variably-resourced settings.

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education