Assessment of Radiological Sciences Students' and Interns' Long-Term Retention of Theoretical and Practical Knowledge: A Longitudinal Panel Study.

Purpose: This study examined the long-term retention of radiological sciences' theoretical and practical knowledge among two cohorts of Saudi male and female students and interns at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)-Jeddah campus.

Methods: A longitudinal panel study was conducted among fourth-year radiological sciences undergraduate students and interns at KSAU-HS, KSA-Jeddah campus. The students were invited to voluntarily retake three onsite 40-multiple-choice-questions midterm exams after one-year interval from their initial midterm exams, whereas the interns retook the same three exams after two years interval. One of the three exams was for a practical course, while the other two were for theoretical courses (ie, one incorporated a blending learning instructional strategy and the second employed a passive learning strategy). The initial exams' scores were retrieved. Paired samples -test was used to compare paired test scores, and one-way analysis of variance was used to examine differences in the retention percentages between the three courses.

Results: Out of all 42 fourth-year students and interns, 35 (83.3%) participated. The one-year and two-year retake exams' mean scores were significantly lower than the initial exams' mean scores for the three courses and among students and interns (P < 0.05). The one-to-two years retention of practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge via a blended learning instructional approach was 61.5-78.6%, more than the retention of theoretical knowledge via a passive learning approach (47.6-64.1%). The one-year retention of practical and theoretical information was significantly higher among male students (64.1-78.6%) than females (47.6-62.9%).

Conclusion: Students and interns showed higher long-term retention of practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge using a blended-learning instructional approach than passive learning approach, with male students showing higher long-term knowledge retention than females. It is essential to incorporate innovative teaching strategies that promote long-term knowledge retention, such as active and blended learning.