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Training Scientific Communication Skills on Medical Imaging within the Virtual World Second Life: Perception of Biomedical Engineering Students.

ABSTRACT: Second Life is a multi-user virtual world platform which enables online learning through immersive activities. This study evaluates the perception of third-year biomedical engineering students about learning activities complementary to a biomedical imaging course carried out within Second Life and focused on training in the public presentation of scientific content to their peers. Between 2015 and 2017, students gave oral presentations on medical imaging topics selected from the proposals of their classmates. Participants were invited to complete an evaluation questionnaire. In the three years of the study, 133 students enrolled in the course (48, 46, and 39 consecutively), and 97 of them delivered the questionnaire (48%, 83%, and 92%, consecutively). Attendance at the sessions ranged between 88% and 44%. The students positively value the experiences, especially the teacher, the educational content, and the virtual island environment, with mean scores greater than or equal to 8.4, 7.7, and 7.7, respectively, on a 1-10-point scale. Overall, they valued Second Life as an attractive and suitable environment for their training in science communication skills, in which they gain self-confidence and are less afraid of speaking in public. Second Life enables students to present scientific content effectively to their peers, receiving hands-on training in the tasks of collecting, organizing, and presenting data, with the benefits of remote access, collaborative work, and social interaction.

SUBMITTER: Lozano-Duran A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9914803 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Training Scientific Communication Skills on Medical Imaging within the Virtual World Second Life: Perception of Biomedical Engineering Students.

Lozano-Durán Andrés A Rudolphi-Solero Teodoro T Nava-Baro Enrique E Ruiz-Gómez Miguel José MJ Sendra-Portero Francisco F

International journal of environmental research and public health 20230117 3

Second Life is a multi-user virtual world platform which enables online learning through immersive activities. This study evaluates the perception of third-year biomedical engineering students about learning activities complementary to a biomedical imaging course carried out within Second Life and focused on training in the public presentation of scientific content to their peers. Between 2015 and 2017, students gave oral presentations on medical imaging topics selected from the proposals of the ...[more]

PMID: 36767063

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Project description:BackgroundCommunication skills are essential to providing patient-centered care. The need for standardized communication skills training is at the forefront of medical school and residency education. We aimed to design and implement a curriculum teaching virtual communications skills to medical students. The purpose of this report is to describe our experience and to offer guidance for training programs developing similar curricula in the future.MethodsThe curriculum was presented in weekly modules over 5 weeks using Zoom technology. We focused on proven strategies for interacting with patients and other providers, adapted to a virtual platform. Skill levels during role-play were assessed by the Simulated Participants and students observing the simulation using the 14-item, physician specific Communication Assessment Tool (CAT). The primary outcome of the CAT is the percentage of "excellent" for each item ranked both years. Participants provided feedback on what worked well or how the module could be improved in open-ended responses.ResultsTwenty-eight and 25 students registered for the course in Year 1 and Year 2, respectively. Students' post-session confidence in their ability to perform target skills was statistically higher than their pre-session scores in most sessions. Modules with the lowest pre-session confidence for both years were "Disclosing a Medical Error" and "Responding to Patient Bias." The mean percentage of students receiving "excellent" scores on individual CAT items ranged from 5 to 73% over the course of both years. Verbal and written feedback in Year 1 provided direction for the curriculum developers to improve the course in Year 2.ConclusionsDeveloping and implementing a new education curriculum is a complex process. We describe an intensive curriculum for medical students as we strive to allow students extra "clinical" time during COVID-related restriction. We believe continued focus on patient and family communication skills will enhance patient care.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s44186-022-00054-9.

Project description:In the model medical curriculum HannibaL at Hannover Medical School (MHH, Hannover, Germany), communication skills in taking case histories and disclosing diagnoses (breaking bad news) are assessed through an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). This is part of the examinations which at the MHH represent the equivalent to the First Part of the Medical Examinations. The second year doctor-patient communication course preparing for these examinations was evaluated during the 2009/10 academic year.Using questionnaires specific to the learning objectives, learning needs were assessed, pre-post comparisons of self-assessed competencies were performed and key teaching methods were evaluated (5-point Likert scales, "5"=fully agree). At T0 (start of the course) 267 students participated (response rate: 93.7%), of which 180 filled out the T1 questionnaire during the last session of the course (67.4%). Within-subject analyses of variance and paired t-tests were conducted.The highest learning needs were found for the "to show how"-items regarding history taking and disclosing diagnoses (M=4.4). The T1-T0 comparisons showed the greatest improvements for history taking ("to know how": mean difference = +1.7, "to show how": +1.8, p<.0001 as with all tests) and the "to know how"-item regarding the disclosure of diagnoses (+1.6), followed by the "to show how"-items on disclosing a diagnosis (+1.4), shared decision making (+1.2), self-assessing one's own strengths/weaknesses (+1.0) and confidently approaching new patients (+0.7). Students with T0 values of 1 or 2 on the respective scales improved on average by 2.2 points across all items, students with the value of 3 by 1.1, and from 4 or 5 by 0.1. Methodically, the use of simulated patients was rated the most helpful (M=4.8, 87% with the scale value 5). This doctor-patient communication course is associated with substantial improvements regarding all key learning objectives. Regarding methods, the deployed simulated patients (2-4 per 10-student-course group in 3 of the 7 course sessions, respectively) were rated the most helpful. The present evaluation calls for both further development of the doctor-patient communication curriculum at the MHH and joint activities across medical schools, which are discussed at the end of the paper.

Dataset Information

Training Scientific Communication Skills on Medical Imaging within the Virtual World Second Life: Perception of Biomedical Engineering Students.

Publications

Training Scientific Communication Skills on Medical Imaging within the Virtual World Second Life: Perception of Biomedical Engineering Students.

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