Evaluation of an Otoscopy Simulator and Traditional Learning with Observation in Teaching Ear Diseases to Phase III Part I Medical Students.

Simulation, in medical education has provided a novel way to impart education which will help students acquire the required skills to achieve their learning objectives. The aim of our study was to evaluate the performance of students exposed to otoscopy simulator-based learning versus traditional learning with observation and also to know the students' perceptions via a questionnaire at the end of the module. This was a prospective interventional study, conducted on third-year medical students, sixty in number, divided into two groups by the lottery method. Group A consisting 30 students was posted for traditional learning with observation and group B for learning on the otoscopy with a simulator. After the study students were assessed on usage of otoscopy by using an OSCE checklist to assess psychomotor skills. Seven parameters were observed and scored. After the OSCE, students were crossed over. A pre-validated 9-question survey, with both qualitative and quantitative components, assessed learner satisfaction about the teaching-learning method. When the OSCE scores of the two groups were compared, the otoscopy with simulation method was significantly better (6.37 ± 0.718) than the traditional method (5.60 ± 1.037). The perceptions of the students were assessed qualitatively and quantitatively with the 9-question survey of which the first 5 questions of the survey were scored on a 5-point Likert scale. The survey showed that 61.7% of the students strongly agreed that the simulation event improved their confidence, 38.5% strongly agreed that the simulation event stimulated interest. Besides, 81.7% strongly agreed that the overall quality of the event was positive. In addition, 66.7% of the students strongly agreed that the simulation method was better and 6.7% strongly agreed that the traditional method was better. Simulation is a great tool complementary to clinical study and plays a pivotal role in bridging the educational gap.