Peer Assisted Learning: A Pedagogical Alternative of Teaching Skills to Medical Students

Authors

  • Joana Fernandes Ribeiro Medicina Geral e Familiar. Unidade de Saúde Familiar Faria Guimarães. Agrupamentos de Centros de Saúde Porto Oriental. Porto. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4092-3099
  • Manuel Rosete Serviço de Cirurgia Geral. Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra. Coimbra. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0312-9825
  • Andreia Teixeira Departamento de Medicina da Comunidade, Informação e Decisão em Saúde. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade do Porto. Porto. Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços da Saúde. Universidade do Porto. Porto. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5068-2543
  • Hugo Conceição Gabinete de Educação Médica. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Coimbra. Coimbra.
  • Lèlita Santos erviço de Medicina Interna. Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra. Coimbra. Clínica Universitária de Medicina Interna. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Coimbra. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0761-5097

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.12125

Keywords:

Education, Medical, Undergraduate, General Surgery / education, Peer Group, Students

Abstract

Introduction: Technical skills training is fundamental for clinical practice although poorly emphasised in undergraduate medical curricula. In these circumstances, Peer Assisted Learning methodology has emerged as a valid alternative to overcome this insufficiency. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact on students of a Peer Assisted Learning program in basic surgical skills, regarding technical competences and knowledge improvement.
Material and Methods: A total of 104 randomly selected third year medical students participated in a workshop delivered by fifth year students. From that total, 34 students were assessed before and after the workshop, using the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills instrument, that consists of a global rating scale and a procedure-specific checklist. Sixth year students (control group) were also assessed in their performance without participating in the workshop. Before workshop versus after workshop Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills results were compared using Wilcoxon and McNemar tests. After workshop versus control group Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills results were compared using Mann-Whitney, qui-squared test and Fisher’s exact test.
Results: For the global rating scale, students obtained an after the workshop score (29.5) that was significantly higher than the before the workshop score (15.5; p-value < 0.001), but no significant differences were found between after the workshop and control group scores (p-value = 0.167). For the procedure-specific checklist, 3rd year students had a substantial positive evolution in all parameters and obtained higher rates of correct achievements compared to the control group.
Discussion: The final outcomes demonstrated a significant qualitative and quantitative improvement of knowledge and technical skills, which is in accordance with other literature.
Conclusion: This Peer Assisted Learning program revealed promising results concerning improvement of surgical skills in medical students, with little staff faculty contribution and extension to a much broader number of students.

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Published

2020-11-02

How to Cite

1.
Ribeiro JF, Rosete M, Teixeira A, Conceição H, Santos L. Peer Assisted Learning: A Pedagogical Alternative of Teaching Skills to Medical Students. Acta Med Port [Internet]. 2020 Nov. 2 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];33(11):742-5. Available from: https://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/12125

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Original