Evaluation of an otoscopy simulator to teach otoscopy and normative anatomy to first year medical students

Abstract

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Blinded randomized controlled study of a web-based otoscopy simulator in undergraduate medical education

“…Physical simulators, such as the anatomic model invented at the University of Virginia, allow for the simulation of surgical techniques such as myringotomy tube insertion . Other studies have examined the utility of physical simulators for teaching pneumatic otoscopy or in improving diagnostic accuracy . Although these simulators may possibly be used as clinical teaching tools, the single‐user aspect of these models does not solve the issue of time and space restrictions, nor does it provide an inexpensive alternative to standardized patients.…”

“…A limitation encountered when assessing the utility of a simulator is creating an assessment that is not biased toward those who have trained on the simulator as part of the intervention. Several studies have used the simulator itself as the format for postintervention assessment . A unique strength of our study is that the simulator was not used as an outcomes assessment.…”

“…Recently, educators have been using simulators to teach complex skills, such as otoscopy, that require basic foundational knowledge, clinical reasoning, and hand–eye coordination. To date, otoscopy simulators have relied on physical models, in which students use an actual otoscope to navigate a synthetic ear . Although these simulators are high fidelity, they can be costly, require dedicated teaching space, and the single‐user nature may create usage restrictions and scheduling difficulties.…”

Aproximación diagnóstica de patología otológica mediante imágenes, en médicos APS, de la I y II Región de Chile

“…En diversos estudios, sin embargo se ha logrado demostrar que con distintos métodos de enseñanza que implican desde visualización de imágenes fotográficas a simuladores de otoscopía, es posible observar una mejoría sustancial en el reconocimiento de patologías y en la confianza personal para la realización de la técnica otoscópica [16][17][18] .…”

Otologic Skills Training

“…Recently, the system has been upgraded to include pneumatic otoscopy capabilities. There is some evidence that simulation-based training can increase medical students’ confidence in otoscopy 9 and the diagnostic accuracy of residents 10 .…”