A comparative study of the effects of multimedia training materials on mini CEX scores of internal medicine residents in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Role of multimedia training materials on Mini-CEX scores of internal medicine residents. We aimed to assess the effect of multi multimedia training materials on Mini-CEX scores of internal medicine residents of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A quasi-experimental action research study on 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd -year internal medicine residents were implemented. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Mini-CEX test measures students' performance in six core skills necessary for medical practice. Mini-CEX scores of 135 internal medicine residents in 2017–2018 were compared before and after the training with prepared multimedia materials. We used repeated measured ANOVA and Mann–Whitney U test to compare the distribution of Mini-CEX scores across corresponding groups. Analysis was done using the SPSS software version 23 (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. Armonk, NY, USA: IBM Corp). RESULTS: The median Mini-CEX score (IQR) of students in preintervention and postintervention groups were 16.14 (5.19) and 19.62 (3.13), respectively. Findings of this study showed a significant increase in mini-CEX scores of the groups who used the multimedia learning material compared to those who did not use it ( P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Multimedia learning resources demonstrated a promising influence on internal residents' mini-CEX scores in this study. They demonstrate significantly greater performance after using multimedia learning materials compared to their same-year residents who did not benefit from it. This demonstrates the favorable effect of multimedia on the acquisition of practical skills such as obtaining a history or performing a physical examination.