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Medical students’ attitudes and perspectives regarding novel computer-based practical spot tests compared to traditional practical spot tests

BACKGROUND: Most universities currently practice traditional practical spot tests to evaluate students. However, traditional methods have several disadvantages. Computer-based examination techniques are becoming more popular among medical educators worldwide. Therefore incorporating the computer int...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Wijerathne, Buddhika, Rathnayake, Geetha
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: University of Saskatchewan 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4563600/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26451213
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author Wijerathne, Buddhika
Rathnayake, Geetha
author_facet Wijerathne, Buddhika
Rathnayake, Geetha
author_sort Wijerathne, Buddhika
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Most universities currently practice traditional practical spot tests to evaluate students. However, traditional methods have several disadvantages. Computer-based examination techniques are becoming more popular among medical educators worldwide. Therefore incorporating the computer interface in practical spot testing is a novel concept that may minimize the shortcomings of traditional methods. Assessing students’ attitudes and perspectives is vital in understanding how students perceive the novel method. METHODS: One hundred and sixty medical students were randomly allocated to either a computer-based spot test (n=80) or a traditional spot test (n=80). The students rated their attitudes and perspectives regarding the spot test method soon after the test. The results were described comparatively. RESULTS: Students had higher positive attitudes towards the computer-based practical spot test compared to the traditional spot test. Their recommendations to introduce the novel practical spot test method for future exams and to other universities were statistically significantly higher. CONCLUSIONS: The computer-based practical spot test is viewed as more acceptable to students than the traditional spot test.
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spelling pubmed-45636002015-10-08 Medical students’ attitudes and perspectives regarding novel computer-based practical spot tests compared to traditional practical spot tests Wijerathne, Buddhika Rathnayake, Geetha Can Med Educ J Brief Report BACKGROUND: Most universities currently practice traditional practical spot tests to evaluate students. However, traditional methods have several disadvantages. Computer-based examination techniques are becoming more popular among medical educators worldwide. Therefore incorporating the computer interface in practical spot testing is a novel concept that may minimize the shortcomings of traditional methods. Assessing students’ attitudes and perspectives is vital in understanding how students perceive the novel method. METHODS: One hundred and sixty medical students were randomly allocated to either a computer-based spot test (n=80) or a traditional spot test (n=80). The students rated their attitudes and perspectives regarding the spot test method soon after the test. The results were described comparatively. RESULTS: Students had higher positive attitudes towards the computer-based practical spot test compared to the traditional spot test. Their recommendations to introduce the novel practical spot test method for future exams and to other universities were statistically significantly higher. CONCLUSIONS: The computer-based practical spot test is viewed as more acceptable to students than the traditional spot test. University of Saskatchewan 2013-09-30 /pmc/articles/PMC4563600/ /pubmed/26451213 Text en © 2013; Wijerathne and Rathnayake licensee Synergies Partners This is an Open Journal Systems article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Brief Report
Wijerathne, Buddhika
Rathnayake, Geetha
Medical students’ attitudes and perspectives regarding novel computer-based practical spot tests compared to traditional practical spot tests
title Medical students’ attitudes and perspectives regarding novel computer-based practical spot tests compared to traditional practical spot tests
title_full Medical students’ attitudes and perspectives regarding novel computer-based practical spot tests compared to traditional practical spot tests
title_fullStr Medical students’ attitudes and perspectives regarding novel computer-based practical spot tests compared to traditional practical spot tests
title_full_unstemmed Medical students’ attitudes and perspectives regarding novel computer-based practical spot tests compared to traditional practical spot tests
title_short Medical students’ attitudes and perspectives regarding novel computer-based practical spot tests compared to traditional practical spot tests
title_sort medical students’ attitudes and perspectives regarding novel computer-based practical spot tests compared to traditional practical spot tests
topic Brief Report
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4563600/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26451213
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