Effect of technology-enhanced learning on the development of the procedural skill of 8th-semester students in the labour room

Background and aims: Practical skills are an essential part of physicians’ daily routine. Nevertheless, medical graduates’ performance of basic skills is often below the expected level. Technology has been considered an influential tool in teaching and learning of skills. It assists students in gathering more information to solve the problems and master skills better. Enhanced medical trainee education, using new and emerging technologies for teaching and learning, may increase competency. Materials and Methods: In this study, Foley’s female catheterisation is selected as a skill for undergraduate students of eight semesters when posted in Jorhat Medical College & Hospital’s labour room for one month. 16 M.B.B.S. students of 8th semester who are posted in labour-room per month are the study population. The study was conducted from Nov 1 to Nov 30 2015. It is a comparative study on conventional (Sodoto) model of skills teaching and technology-enhanced (simulation) skills teaching. Results: The results indicate an increase in skill competency over time among the same group of students after technology-enhanced and self-directed learning of the skill to perform female catheterisation in the labour room. Feedback also increases the increasing interest of both faculty and students for this new teaching-learning tool. Conclusion: Technology-enhanced learning offers a novel pedagogical approach to enhance medical students’ medical skill competencies levels. The outcomes of this study have shown an encouraging result.