Key result
Self-drawing exercises, both alone and following a flipped classroom approach, significantly improved residents' ECG interpretation scores compared to conventional lecture-based learning (p < 0.001).
Why the study?
Despite early training in medical school, accurate interpretation of 12-lead ECG remains a challenging issue.
Does self-drawing with or without a flipped classroom approach improve ECG interpretation skills in first-year postgraduate medical residents?
Cohort (n=76)
No
Does self-drawing with or without a flipped classroom approach improve ECG interpretation skills in first-year postgraduate medical residents?
Effect estimate: r = 0.658
p-value: p=<0.001
Incorporating self-drawing exercises into ECG interpretation training significantly improves short-term diagnostic accuracy among first-year medical residents compared to traditional lectures alone.
Self-drawing may aid resident ECG training; hypothesis-generating and requires randomized confirmation before practice change.
BACKGROUND: Although the training course of electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation was started early in medical school, the accuracy in interpretation of 12-lead ECG is always a challenge issue. We conducted a pilot educational program to compare the effectiveness of a conventional didactic lecture, self-drawing (SD), and self-drawing following a flipped classroom approach (SDFC). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of three instructional strategies-traditional didactic lecture, self-drawing (SD), and self-drawing following a flipped classroom approach (SDFC)-in improving electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation skills among first-year postgraduate (PGY-I) medical residents. METHODS: This study was conducted by postgraduate-year (PGY)-I residents at MacKay Memorial Hospital over three years. The study enrolled 76 PGY-I residents, who were randomized into three groups: conventional control group (group 1), SD group (group 2) and SDFC group (group 3). All participants were provided with the same learning material and didactic lectures. Knowledge evaluation was performed using pre-tests and post-tests were conducted using questionnaires. RESULTS: The groups involving SD, whether combined with a flipped classroom or not, demonstrated better performance on the written summative examination. These findings highlight the benefits of SD in integrating theoretical knowledge with practical approaches to ECG interpretation. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated the promising effects of SD on the recognition of ECG presentations, which could make up for the inadequacies of traditional classroom teaching. It can be incorporated into routine teaching if proven successful in a larger cohort.
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Liao et al. (2025) conducted a cohort in ECG interpretation training (n=76). Self-drawing (SD) and self-drawing after flipped classroom (SDFC) vs. Conventional lecture-based learning (LBL) was evaluated on Post-test score on a 10-point standardized ECG interpretation examination (r = 0.658, p=<0.001). Self-drawing exercises, both alone and following a flipped classroom approach, significantly improved residents' ECG interpretation scores compared to conventional lecture-based learning (p < 0.001).
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