Assessment of a massive open online course (MOOC) incorporating interactive simulation videos on residents’ knowledge retention regarding mechanical ventilation

BACKGROUND: Understanding respiratory physiology and mechanical ventilation is a challenge for healthcare workers, particularly, medical residents. A team of French-speaking experts developed an innovative MOOC incorporating interactive simulation-based videos and serious games aiming at improving knowledge and skills in mechanical ventilation. Our objective was to evaluate the long-term knowledge retention regarding key concepts presented in this MOOC. METHODS: French residents registered for the MOOC 2020’s winter session were invited to participate in a two-step study. The first step consisted in evaluating students’ pre-course knowledge of respiratory physiology and mechanical ventilation fusing a 20 five-item multiple choice questions test with a total score ranging from 0 to 100. For the second step, the same students answered the same test (after shuffling the questions) six months after the completion of the course. We assessed the impact of this MOOC on the students’ knowledge retention by comparing pre-course and post-course scores. RESULT: Of the 102 residents who agreed to participate in the study, 80 completed the course and their mean ± SD pre-course score was 76.0 ± 8.0. Fifty-one respondents also completed the second and their post-course score was significantly higher than the baseline one (83.1 ± 7.3 vs. 77.5 ± 7.6, p < 0.001). Scores of the first and second rounds did not differ upon comparing respondents’ background specialty or number of years of residency. For the vast majority of individual questions (96%), the success rate was higher at the post-course than at the pre-course assessment. CONCLUSION: An innovative MOOC incorporating simulation-based videos was effective in teaching medical residents basic mechanical ventilation knowledge and skills, especially in the field of respiratory physiology and ventilatory modes. We observed effective long-term knowledge retention with a higher score at the post-course assessment six months after the completion of the course compared with the pre-course score. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-021-03025-8.