The Effect of WhatsApp Messaging on Learning Paediatrics During Clinical Rotation of Final Year MBBS Medical Undergraduates

Abstract

Objective: To determine the impact of WhatsApp Messaging on learning paediatrics during clinical rotation of final year MBBS medical undergraduates. Study Design: Quasi-Experimental study Place and Duration of Study: Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Karachi Pakistan, from Apr to Oct 2018. Methodology: Final year MBBS students attending the Department of Paediatrics for three months of clinical rotation were randomly allocated to two Groups. Group-A was the control Group without WhatsApp, and Group-B was the intervention Group with WhatsApp messaging. Both Groups had a pre-test and post-test before and after their clinical rotation. The evaluation was performed before and after clinical rotation using Multiple choice questions (MCQs) for the final evaluation. Results: Of a total of 80 students, 19(23.8%) were males, and 61(76.3%) were females, with a median age of 23(22-23) years. Of 40 students in the WhatsApp Group, active participation was observed in 37(92.5%) students, whereas the quality of the shared content by students was found to be adequate/relevant in 35(87.5%) cases. The median score was significantly higher in both Groups' clinical rotation test than in the pre-clinical rotation assessment (p-value <0.001). However, the median score of the post-clinical rotation test was significantly higher in the WhatsApp Group than in the non-WhatsApp Group (p-value <0.001). Conclusion: WhatsApp was found to be a highly effective tool for learning paediatrics among medical students during their clinical attachment.

Keywords

• Clinical attachment
• Paediatrics
• Ubiquitous learning
• Undergraduate medical education
• WhatsApp.