Study of impact of manual biochemistry practicals vs practicals using automation techniques in first-year MBBS students

Abstract

Background: Biochemistry being considered as one of the fundamental science subjects taught during the first year of medical course, is proposed to be taught in the right perspective to medical students; since it forms the basic for General Medicine. Innovative curriculum with case-based learning is proven to develop the academic performance of biochemistry in medical students. Objective: To study the impact of manual and automated technique practicals on students' knowledge, skills, and attitude and its perception by the students. Materials and Methods: The 150 voluntary participants were first-year MBBS students who consented to undergo study. They were asked to perform practical of estimation of urinary sugar using Uristik and using Benedict's test (manual method). Knowledge was tested by questionnaire. Result: Statistically significant difference was found between automated method when compared with manual method. Conclusion: From this study, we found early clinical exposure to automated method was better than traditional manual method for medical students in Indian scenario. However, it was also noted that automated method requires extra efforts by the students to learn the accurate interpretation of the results. But, students were satisfied more by automated method.