The evaluation of e-learning resources as an adjunct to otolaryngology teaching: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: The concept of e-Learning has been rapidly accepted as an important component of medical education and is especially adept at teaching clinical skills. However, their impact on learning, particularly in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) medical school curriculum, has yet to be adequately explored. The aim of this pilot study is to develop interactive e-Learning resources and evaluate their impact in enhancing OHNS teaching in medical school. METHODS: This pilot study is a randomized controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of e-Learning resources in enhancing the current traditional lecture and tutorial-based teaching of OHNS in medical school. Nineteen final-year medical students from the University of Sydney were recruited for this study, who were randomly allocated into intervention group with additional e-Learning resources (Group A) and control group (Group B). Student knowledge was assessed through objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) with use of standardized forms for objective scoring. Assessors were blinded to student randomization status. A post-study questionnaire was distributed to assess student feedback on the e-Learning resources. RESULTS: Eight students were allocated to Group A and 11 students to Group B. Group A performed significantly better than Group B in the overall examination scores (78.50 ± 13.88 v. 55.82 ± 8.23; P = < 0.01). With the minimum pass mark of 65%, the majority of students in Group A was able to pass the OSCE assessments, while the majority of students in Group B failed (87.50% v. 9.10%; P = 0.01). The post-test questionnaire on the e-Learning resources showed very favorable feedback from the students’ perspective. CONCLUSION: Results from our pilot study suggests that the use of interactive online e-Learning resources can be a valuable adjunct in supplementing OHNS teaching in medical school, as they are readily accessible and allow flexible on-demand learning. Future studies involving large numbers of medical students are needed to validate these results.