Two hours of ECG teaching significantly improved final year medical students' overall examination scores from a mean of 4.2/10 to 5.0/10 (p < 0.001).
Cohort (n=150)
No
Does a 2-hour ECG teaching session improve ECG interpretation knowledge and confidence in final year medical students?
A short, 2-hour targeted ECG teaching session significantly improves basic ECG interpretation skills and confidence among final year medical students.
Absolute Event Rate: 5% vs 4.2%
p-value: p=<0.001
Background: Electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation remains suboptimal among medical students and doctors in clinical practice. This study assessed the impact of a short period of ECG teaching provided to medical students on completion of their academic curriculum, focusing on specific aspects of ECG interpretation. Objectives: The primary outcome was the impact on students’ knowledge. The secondary outcome was the impact on confidence in ECG interpretation. Methods: Prospective cohort study of the impact of 2 hours of ECG teaching delivered by Cardiology trainees to final year medical students. Standardised 10 question examinations were given before and after the session. Questionnaires were given to assess confidence in ECG interpretation. Results: Of 150 students who received teaching, 141 completed the pre-course examination and 139 completed the post-course examination (mean age 25.1 years; 55.5% female; 81.1% undergraduate). There was a statistically significant improvement in results after the course (p value <0.001). The improvement was most significant in the assessment of heart rate and STEMI identification. There was a deterioration in the identification of spot diagnosis ECGs (p value 0.02). Thirty-nine students completed feedback questionnaires. There was a statistically significant improvement in confidence in ECG interpretation (p value <0.001). Conclusions: This study showed an improvement in both ECG knowledge and confidence in ECG interpretation following 2 hours of teaching. The assessment of simple concepts such as heart rate improved more significantly than complex concepts such as conduction abnormalities. Our findings suggest a benefit from dedicated ECG revision programmes with different methodologies used to teach different aspects of ECG interpretation.
Pollock et al. (Fri,) conducted a cohort in Medical students (ECG interpretation knowledge) (n=150). ECG teaching vs. Pre-course knowledge (baseline) was evaluated on Overall score on a 10-question ECG interpretation examination (p=<0.001). Two hours of ECG teaching significantly improved final year medical students' overall examination scores from a mean of 4.2/10 to 5.0/10 (p < 0.001).