Perioperative pain management education: A short structured regional anesthesia course compared with traditional teaching among medical students

Marie N. Hanna, Michael B. Donnelly, Christopher L. Montgomery, Paul A. Sloan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Previous research has demonstrated that a brief course on pain management improved knowledge and attitudes toward analgesic use among medical students. The purpose of this study is to compare a structured clinical instruction course on regional anesthesia techniques for perioperative pain management with traditional teaching given to senior medical students. Methods: During a 1-month clerkship in anesthesiology, 40 fourth-year medical students were randomly and equally divided into 2 groups. The study group received a 2-hour structured course on regional anesthesia techniques for pain management, whereas the control group received a 1-hour lecture tutorial on regional anesthesia techniques for perioperative pain management and 1 hour of bedside teaching on acute pain management. Each student completed an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) 2 weeks after completion of the course. Results: The study group performed better on each of the 11 items of the OSCE and on the total performance scores (mean ± SD of 36.2 ± 7.3 for study group versus 14.8 ± 8.4 for the control group; P < .05). All students rated the clinical course highly valuable (4.7 ± 0.5). Conclusion: A structured clinical instructional course on regional techniques for perioperative pain management given to fourth-year medical students can significantly improve their understanding and knowledge compared with traditional teaching.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)523-528
Number of pages6
JournalRegional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
Volume30
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2005

Keywords

  • Education
  • OSCE
  • Pain management
  • Regional anesthesia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

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