A Cohort study of synchronized immersion course to improve teaching effectiveness of clinical practice of surgery for eight-year program students

Abstract

Objective To investigate the application of synchronized immersion course (SIC) in teaching of clinical practice of surgery for eight-year program students. Methods A total of 94 eight-year program students in French class and 4+4 class who received SIC in the study of surgery in Ruijin Clinical School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University from September 2017 to June 2019 were selected as the pilot group. A total of 91 students in English class who were taught in the traditional way in the same period were selected as a horizontal control group. A total of 84 students in French class and 4+4 class who were studying from September 2015 to June 2017 were selected as the longitudinal control group. Teaching satisfaction evaluation, examination results and specialization choice were compared among students in each group to assess teaching effectiveness. Results The total score (3.8±0.3) and satisfaction rate (98.9%) of the questionnaire in the pilot group were better than those in the horizontal control group (3.6±0.4, 90.1%)（P=0.001，P=0.008）. For the case analysis station in objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), the mean score (86.2±6.9) and pass rate (97.9%) in the pilot group were better than those in the horizontal control group (79.7±11.4, 89.0%)（P=0.001，P=0.014）, as well as better than those in the longitudinal control group (79.5±13.5, 88.1%)（P=0.001，P=0.009）. For the history inquiry station, the mean score (86.3±10.7) and pass rate (96.8%) in the pilot group were better than those in the horizontal control group (81.4±11.6, 86.8%)（P=0.003，P=0.013）. The proportion of students choosing the surgical specialty was higher in the pilot group (55.3%) than in the horizontal control group (46.2%) and the longitudinal control group (44.0%) without statistically significant difference. Conclusions SIC can help eight-year program students strengthen their clinical thinking and practice skills. Meanwhile, SIC can increase students’ satisfaction with teaching and their interest in surgery.

Keywords

• |each theory of surgery|clinical practice|course reform|eight-year program students