New ideas for teaching electrocardiogram interpretation and improving classroom teaching content

Abstract

BackgroundInterpreting an electrocardiogram (ECG) is not only one of the most important parts of diagnostics but also one of the most difficult areas to teach. Owing to the abstract nature of the basic theoretical knowledge of the ECG, its scattered characteristics, and tedious and difficult-to-remember subject matter, teaching how to interpret ECGs is as difficult for teachers to teach as it is for students to learn. In order to enable medical students to master basic knowledge of ECG interpretation skills in a limited teaching time, we modified the content used for traditional ECG teaching and now propose a new ECG teaching method called the “graphics-sequence memory method.”MethodsA prospective randomized controlled study was designed to measure the actual effectiveness of ECG learning by students. Two hundred students were randomly placed under a traditional teaching group and an innovative teaching group, with 100 participants in each group. The teachers in the traditional teaching group utilized the traditional teaching outline, whereas the teachers in the innovative teaching group received training in line with the proposed teaching method and syllabus. All the students took an examination in the final semester by analyzing 20 ECGs from real clinical cases and submitted their ECG reports.ResultsThe average ECG reading time was 32 minutes for the traditional teaching group and 18 minutes for the innovative teaching group. The average ECG accuracy results were 43% for the traditional teaching group and 77% for the innovative teaching group.ConclusionLearning to accurately interpret ECGs is an important skill in the cardiac discipline, but the ECG’s mechanisms are intricate and the content is scattered. Textbooks tend to make the students feel confused owing to the restrictions of the length and the format of the syllabi, apart from many other limitations. The graphics-sequence memory method was found to be a useful method for ECG teaching.

Improving electrocardiogram interpretation skills for medical students

“…In conclusion, we recommend implementation of the novel teaching technique described by Zeng et al1 It is hoped that this will result in a more thorough ECG approach and, therefore, improved interpretation by students. The addition of web-based teaching modules could potentially be used as a learning aid.…”

“…We read with great interest the article by Zeng at al1 who propose a new electrocardiogram (ECG) teaching method called the “graphics-sequence memory method”. An ECG is one of the most important diagnostic tests and is currently used as a gold standard for the diagnosis of a number of cardiac diseases.…”

“…We appreciate that it can be a challenging concept to teach, often bringing frustration to the educators trained in ECG interpretation. Zeng et al1 highlight a deficiency in learning through the traditional Chinese disease-based teaching method, resulting in a relative inability to interpret ECGs where the diagnosis is not quite so straightforward. Accumulation of evidence2 has suggested that a significant proportion of undergraduate medical students do not feel competent in their interpretation of an ECG.…”

“…We believe that an introduction of a web-based ECG teaching module could potentially prove beneficial. Although previous studies that have developed a readily available web-based teaching module have demonstrated its effectiveness,3,4 a sufficiently powered randomized controlled trial similar to the one implemented by Zeng et al1 investigating outcomes following web-based ECG teaching is required to confirm this hypothesis.…”

“…I read the letter by Patel et al entitled “Improving Electrocardiogram Interpretation Skills for Medical Students.” First, I will give my thanks for all authors in this article for their kind words and interest in my work 1. Second, I want to further explain what is the meaning of graphics-sequenced interpretation of electrocardiogram (ECG) and what is the effect as a tool for flipped classroom teaching model.…”