The effect of integration of basic and clinical aspects of a specific topic in a parasitology course on medical students learning: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Parasitology course is one of the basic science courses in the educational curriculum for medical students. Since the integration of basic and clinical sciences has helped students better understand the basic science course content, the aim of the present study was to determine the effect of integration of basic and clinical aspects of a specific topic in a parasitology course on medical students learning. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 110 undergraduate fifth-semester medical students from April to July 2018. The students were randomly divided into two groups, based on student identification number: Intervention and control groups. The topic selected for this study from the parasitology course was “cutaneous leishmaniasis.” At the beginning of the program, a dermatologist presented the clinical aspects of the topic to the intervention group. Then, a parasitologist delivered a traditional lecture about the basic aspects of the topic to both groups. The students’ scores on questions related to cutaneous leishmaniasis in the final exam were used as a measure of learning and teaching outcomes. A questionnaire that consisted of seven items and three open-ended questions was used based on the objectives of the randomized controlled trial. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS software. RESULTS: Based on the result of the final examination, there was no significant difference in the learning rate of students between the intervention and control groups (P ≥ 0.05). According to students’ comments, the teaching of clinical science alongside basic science increased the importance of the topic and the students’ interest in basic science. Most students agreed that this method prepares them for their clinical years. CONCLUSION: Many medical students believe that the content of many basic science courses are forgotten in the future. Therefore, basic science education alongside clinical science presentations are suggested.