PURPOSE: The digital rectal examination (DRE) is a necessary part of a complete physical examination and evaluation of a patient, yet teaching of this examination to medical students is often inadequate. This study was a comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of the rectal teaching associate (RTA), lecture, role-playing, and simulated models as methods for teaching the DRE procedure to undergraduate medical students at Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty of Medicine. METHOD:A total of 65 third-year medical students were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Both groups received a lecture and practiced the DRE on a simulated model. The experimental group received further training from an RTA. Students completed a pre- and post-intervention knowledge assessment, an objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) measuring performance of the DRE, and a satisfaction survey. RESULTS:Mean knowledge scores increased significantly for both groups (18.73 to 22.32, p <.0001). The control group scored significantly higher on the post-intervention assessment than did the experimental group (23.11 versus 21.47, p =.025) The experimental group scored higher on the OSCE (27.52 versus 23.80, p =.001) and rated the RTA as a more effective method for learning the DRE. CONCLUSIONS: This first study using RTAs to teach the DRE as a global skill for evaluating the rectum suggests that the RTA method is effective for increasing skills and students' confidence in the procedure.
RCT Entities:
PURPOSE: The digital rectal examination (DRE) is a necessary part of a complete physical examination and evaluation of a patient, yet teaching of this examination to medical students is often inadequate. This study was a comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of the rectal teaching associate (RTA), lecture, role-playing, and simulated models as methods for teaching the DRE procedure to undergraduate medical students at Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty of Medicine. METHOD: A total of 65 third-year medical students were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Both groups received a lecture and practiced the DRE on a simulated model. The experimental group received further training from an RTA. Students completed a pre- and post-intervention knowledge assessment, an objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) measuring performance of the DRE, and a satisfaction survey. RESULTS: Mean knowledge scores increased significantly for both groups (18.73 to 22.32, p <.0001). The control group scored significantly higher on the post-intervention assessment than did the experimental group (23.11 versus 21.47, p =.025) The experimental group scored higher on the OSCE (27.52 versus 23.80, p =.001) and rated the RTA as a more effective method for learning the DRE. CONCLUSIONS: This first study using RTAs to teach the DRE as a global skill for evaluating the rectum suggests that the RTA method is effective for increasing skills and students' confidence in the procedure.
Authors: Alan G Nyitray; Joseph T Hicks; Lu-Yu Hwang; Sarah Baraniuk; Margaret White; Stefanos Millas; Nkechi Onwuka; Xiaotao Zhang; Eric L Brown; Michael W Ross; Elizabeth Y Chiao Journal: Sex Transm Infect Date: 2017-08-23 Impact factor: 3.519
Authors: Mansour A Al Asmri; James Ennis; Robert John Stone; Fernando Bello; M Sayeed Haque; Jim Parle Journal: BMJ Simul Technol Enhanc Learn Date: 2020-08-01
Authors: Christoph Nikendei; Katja Diefenbacher; Nadja Köhl-Hackert; Heike Lauber; Julia Huber; Anne Herrmann-Werner; Wolfgang Herzog; Jobst-Hendrik Schultz; Jana Jünger; Markus Krautter Journal: BMC Med Educ Date: 2015-02-01 Impact factor: 2.463