Effectiveness of Video-assisted Debriefing Versus Standard Oral Debriefing Following Screen-based Simulation (CyberPatient TM) Training

Background: A common recommendation to develop skillful practice is to playback videos during debriefing; however, no study has addressed the advantages of such a technique. Objectives: The present study aimed to compare the pedagogical effectiveness of video-assisted debriefing and oral debriefing in simulation-based training. By comparing video-assisted debriefing and traditional oral debriefing, it was hypothesized that videoassisted debriefing would improve medical students’ decision-making skills and professional attitudes. Methods: This quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest design. The study encompassed 76 medical students in the fourth year of their seven-year training program. The participants were selected using a census and were then randomly divided into intervention (video-assisted debriefing, n = 36) and control (oral debriefing, n = 40) groups. The required data were collected using a demographic information questionnaire, the Penn State College of Medicine Professionalism Questionnaire, and Lauri and Salantera’s (2002) Clinical Decision-making Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were used to describe the participants’ characteristics. Paired t-test and independent t-test were run to compare the medical students’ clinical decision-making and professional attitude scores before and after the intervention within and between the groups. Results: There was no significant difference in the medical students’ clinical decision-making skills between the two groups before the intervention (P = 0.09); however, significant differences were observed in both groups after the intervention (P 0.001). Moreover, there was no significant difference in the professional attitude of medical students between the two groups before the intervention (P = 0.03); however, there were significant differences in both groups after the intervention (P 0.001). Conclusions: The findings revealed that simulation-based training with video-assisted debriefing was more effective in developing the undergraduate medical students’ decision-making skills and promoting their professional attitudes.