ENHANCING PATIENT HISTORY-TAKING SKILLS: VIRTUAL OPHTHALMOLOGY CLINIC FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS
A. Zechariah Jebakumar
Dept. of Research and Scientific studies, Prince Sultan Military college of Health Sciences, Dhahran-31932, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Hassan S. Nondo
Dept. of Research and Scientific studies, Prince Sultan Military college of Health Sciences, Dhahran-31932, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Siju K. George
Dept. of Research and Scientific studies, Prince Sultan Military college of Health Sciences, Dhahran-31932, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
G.Manoj
Dept of Pharmacology, C.L. Baid Metha College of Pharmacy, Thoraipakkam, Chennai - 600096, India
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using the Virtual Ophthalmology Clinic (VOC) as a learning tool for improving patient history-taking skills among medical students. A total of 188 medical students were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group in a randomized controlled trial. Both groups underwent pre- and post-tests, as well as a satisfaction survey, with long-term retention rates assessed afterward. Results indicated a significant improvement in correct answers for both experimental and control groups from pre- to post-rotation. However, the experimental group showed a significantly greater improvement compared to the control group. On average, the experimental group scored 1.6 points higher (representing an 8% improvement) than the control group after 12 months. The findings suggest that incorporating VOC into medical education can lead to enhanced academic performance and address challenges in ophthalmic learning outcomes within a crowded medical curriculum
9 , 2 , 2019
16 - 19