Videos of demonstration versus text and image-based material for pre-skill conceptualisation in flipped newborn resuscitation training for medical students: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: The flipped skills lab is a student-centred approach which incorporates pre-class preparation (pre-skill conceptualization) followed by repeated, hands-on practice for practical skills training. Objective measures of skills acquisition in the flipped literature are few and conflicting. The importance of pre-skill conceptualization in flipped skills training suggests that pedagogically informed pre-skill conceptualization can enhance outcomes. METHODS: A mixed quasi-experimental study was conducted on 41 final year medical students who followed a flipped newborn resuscitation skills lab. Pre-class preparatory material covered conceptual and procedural knowledge. Students in the traditional group (n = 19) and those in the interventionalmental group (n = 22) received identical reading material covering conceptual knowledge. Procedural knowledge was shared with the interventional group as demonstration videos, while the traditional group received a PowerPoint presentation with text and images covering the same material. Knowledge acquisition was assessed by 20 single best answer questions before and after hands-on practice in the skills lab and skill performance was tested post-intervention with a simulated scenario. Students’ perceptions were collected by survey. Quantitative data was analysed using Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and Mann–Whitney U test as appropriate. Qualitative data was analysed by thematic analysis. RESULTS: Overall student rating of the intervention was positive with ratings of 4.54 and 4.46 out of 5 by the traditional group and the experimental group respectively. Post-intervention skill performance in the experimental group was significantly better (p < .05) in the interventional group (M = 87.86%, SD = 5.89) than in the traditional group (M = 83.44, SD = 5.30) with a medium effect size (r = .40). While both groups showed significant knowledge gains, only students in the experimental group showed a statistically significant gain in procedural knowledge (p < .05) following the flipped skills lab. Finally, while both groups self-reported feeling more knowledgeable and confident following the intervention, the level of confidence was superior in the experimental group. CONCLUSIONS: Flipping the skills lab with pre-skill conceptualisation combining text-based conceptual knowledge and video-based procedural knowledge followed by simulation-based hands-on practice improves procedural knowledge and skills acquisition in newborn resuscitation training for medical students. This study shows that in addition to temporal benefits, pedagogically informed pre-skill conceptualization can confer procedure-specific cognitive and emotional benefits supporting skills acquisition. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-022-03926-2.