Learning by teaching basic life support: a non-randomized controlled trial with medical students

Abstract

Background Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is usually taught in universities through theoretical lectures and simulations on mannequins with low retention of knowledge and skills. New teaching methodologies have been used to improve the learning, placing the student at the center of the process. Likewise, the outside community knows next to nothing about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Patients who have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest will die if the effective maneuvers are not promptly done. Learning by teaching could be a way to answer both requirements. It was therefore decided to evaluate whether the medical students’ cardiopulmonary resuscitation performance would improve when they teach other people, and if those people could learn with them effectively. Methods A non-randomized controlled trial was designed to assess whether teaching Basic Life Support would increase students’ learning. Socially engaged, seeking to disseminate knowledge, 92 medical students were trained in Basic Life Support and who subsequently trained 240 community health professionals. The students performed theoretical and practical pre- and post-tests whereas the health professionals performed theoretical pre- and post-tests and one practical test. In order to assess the impact of teaching on students’ learning, they were divided into two groups: a case group, with 53 students, reassessed after teaching health professionals, and a control group, with 39 students, reassessed before teaching. Results The practical students’ performance of the case group went from 13.3 ± 2.1 to 15.3 ± 1.2 (maximum = 17, p < 0.001) and theoretical from 10.1 ± 3.0 to 16.4 ± 1.7 (maximum = 20, p < 0.001) while the performance of the control group went from 14.4 ± 1.6 to 14.4 ± 1.4 ( p = 0.877) and from 11.2 ± 2.6 to 15.0 ± 2.3 (p < 0.001), respectively. The theoretical performance of the health professionals changed from 7.9 ± 3.6 to 13.3 ± 3.2 (p < 0.001) and the practical performance was 11.7 ± 3.2. Conclusions The students who passed through the teaching activity had a theoretical and practical performance superior to that of the control group. The community was able to learn from the students. The study demonstrated that the didactic activity can be an effective methodology of learning, besides allowing the dissemination of knowledge. The University, going beyond its academic boundaries, performs its social responsibility.

Basic life support education: the impact of lecture-demonstration in undergraduate students of health sciences

“…It has been documented 26 that these students can disseminate this knowledge through cognitive consolidation of these contents about BLS. Kawakami et al 27 point out that assessing the teaching-learning process in BLS training programs is considered essential since, without evaluating the results, we cannot accurately obtain indicators of past actions or the definition of future activities.…”

The role of teamwork and non-technical skills for improving emergency surgical outcomes: an international perspective

“…In the experience at the University of Campinas in Brazil, the skills of medical students have been improved by moving from a predominantly theoretical to a more practical basic life support course (BLS), which included activities on which students were assessed on their ability to teach the principles of BLS to laypeople in the community. Assessing students on their ability to teach improves communication and team work, and can enhance both learning and medical school social accountability [ 65 , 66 ]. As an extracurricular activity, the medical students in the second year can apply to join the Trauma League, in which they gather with a supervising faculty physician, with the intent to improve their knowledge in the areas of surgery and emergency care; have early contact with environments such as the emergency room, and operating room; observe the surgeons at work (apprenticeship); develop research; organize meetings (regional and national), and work with trauma prevention.…”

Aprender Ensinando: O Que Dizem as Pesquisas Sobre O Tema

“…Sobre aprender ensinando em cursos de Medicina, Veloso et al (2019), em artigo desenvolvido a partir de sua tese de doutorado, avaliou a ampliação do conhecimento e das habilidades de estudantes ao ensinar outras pessoas, analisando, também, o aprendizado delas. Os estudantes foram divididos em dois grupos, o caso e o controle.…”

“…A percepção dos alunos desse grupo demonstra que a atividade de ensino desenvolveu a segurança e a confiança em si mesmos, pois, de acordo com o pesquisador, todos se disseram capazes de aplicar o suporte básico de vida em situações reais, contra 73% dos estudantes do grupo controle. Da mesma forma, 97,1% do grupo caso sentiram-se aptos a ensinar, contra 62,2% do grupo controle (VELOSO et al, 2019).…”