A pilot study examining experiential learning vs didactic education of abdominal compartment syndrome.

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

American journal of surgery

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Current surgical education relies on simulated educational experiences or didactic sessions to teach low-frequency clinical events such as abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS). The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate if simulation would improve performance and knowledge retention of ACS better than a didactic lecture.

METHODS: Nineteen general surgery residents were block randomized by postgraduate year level to a didactic or a simulation session. After 3 months, all residents completed a knowledge assessment before participating in an additional simulation. Two independent reviewers assessed resident performance via audio-video recordings.

RESULTS: No baseline differences in ACS experience were noted between groups. The observational evaluation demonstrated a significant difference in performance between the didactic and simulation groups: 9.9 vs 12.5, P = .037 (effect size = 1.15). Knowledge retention was equivalent between groups.

CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study suggests that simulation-based education may be more effective for teaching the basic concepts of ACS.

First Page

358

Last Page

364

DOI

10.1016/j.amjsurg.2016.07.011

Publication Date

8-1-2017

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