Perceptual learning modules in undergraduate dermatology teaching

Abstract

Background. Dermatological diagnosis depends highly on visual skills, and implicit nonanalytical proficiency plays a key role. To correctly diagnose skin diseases, the clinician needs visual skills, and intuitive recognition plays a key role. Aim. To investigate the effectiveness of digital perceptual learning modules (PLMs) in undergraduate teaching, and how these affect medical students' learning about skin diseases. Methods. This was a study performed in Finland, which enrolled 39 students of an undergraduate dermatology course. Online PLMs designed for dermatology, using different pictures of skin diseases were performed three times: before, during and at the end of the course. The modules provided four outcome measures: diagnostic accuracy (percentage of correct responses), a rating of confidence about the decision, fluency (response/decision time) and a list of features on which the decision was based.Results. As the number of PLMs and the course duration increased, there were also improvements in the four measures, with a significant increase in diagnostic accuracy [from 66% to 94%; P < 0.001; partial g 2 (g 2 p ) = 0.92], fluency (as measured by a decrease in response time (from 10 to 6 s; P < 0 0.001; g 2 p = 0.69) and self-perceived confidence (2.5 to 4.3; P < 0 0.001, g 2 p = 0.86) with subsequent PLMs and course duration. There was a diversification of recognized features, an increase in pattern recognition, and better attention to localization and contextual association. Based on student feedback, the PLMs functioned well online, and enhanced motivation and learning. Conclusion. PLMs increased diagnostic accuracy, had a positive effect on learning outcomes and were easily integrated alongside clinical teaching. Considering the current era of digital technologies, we believe that there is potential for wider use of PLMs to improve visual skills and strengthen implicit learning in dermatology.

Perceptual learning in dermatology—A Finnish cohort study of undergraduate medical students

“…Digital technologies have developed into effective enhancements of medical education and have shown to produce rapid and enduring learning outcomes 12,42 . Methods of PL have been implemented in a variety of different specialities 43 but although dermatology is primarily a visual speciality, only a very limited amount of research exists 5,11,26 . Regarding the correct identification of skin lesions, studies have shown that most important factors are frequent repetitions and sufficient intervals between practice 5,6 .…”

“…A 10–15 s response time has been reported most effective in learning electrocardiogram interpretation 52,53 . We used a 10 s response time (images disappeared after 10s, but participants had 30s time to respond), which was shorter than in our previous study on PLMs 26 . Champagne et al 54 examined PLMs on postgraduate training of echocardiography with short‐time improvements, but no sustainment of learning effects.…”

“…Perceptual learning modules (PLMs) aim to improve intuitive recognition, but practicability and optimal settings have remained unclear 23,24 . Digital PLMs consist of repetitive visual tasks to recognize the right diagnosis from a given amount of clinical pictures (distractors) in a limited time frame (response time) 25,26 . Recently, we conducted a pilot study on digital PLMs in undergraduate dermatology and observed significant improvements in learning outcomes 26 .…”

“…Digital PLMs consist of repetitive visual tasks to recognize the right diagnosis from a given amount of clinical pictures (distractors) in a limited time frame (response time) 25,26 . Recently, we conducted a pilot study on digital PLMs in undergraduate dermatology and observed significant improvements in learning outcomes 26 . Methods of perceptual learning may thus have substantial potential in teaching dermatology.…”

“…25,26 Recently, we conducted a pilot study on digital PLMs in undergraduate dermatology and observed significant improvements in learning outcomes. 26 Methods of perceptual learning may thus have substantial potential in teaching dermatology. In this study, our aim was to investigate modified PLMs and widen our understanding of visual perceptual learning (PL) in dermatology.…”