Virtual and In-person Electroencephalography (EEG) Training among Pediatric and Adult Neurology Residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, educational programs have increasingly relied on virtual methods. Objectives: In this study, we compared the effects of in-person and virtual electroencephalography (EEG) training on the knowledge of pediatric and adult neurology residents. Methods: The study participants consisted of 30 pediatric and adult neurology residents who were recruited nationwide via a virtual network. They were randomly divided into two groups for in-person and virtual education, respectively. Prior to the first workshop session, participants completed a pre-test comprising 19 knowledge-related questions. Two interactive training sessions focusing on benign variants in EEG were conducted, including two in-person workshops for eight residents and two online workshops for 22 residents. Each session lasted one hour, with one held every two weeks. After the second session, participants were asked to complete a post-test consisting of 24 questions (identical to the pre-test) and five workshop satisfaction-related questions. Results: Overall, the mean exam score after both the in-person and virtual workshops was significantly higher than the pretest score across all educational levels. The mean score differences in knowledge between the in-person and virtual groups after the workshop were similar, with no statistically significant difference. Approximately 90% of the participants believed that the workshop would be beneficial for their daily practice. Conclusions: Given the absence of a significant difference between in-person and virtual training methods in improving participants' knowledge and satisfaction with both approaches, we recommend integrating virtual EEG training into the educational protocol for pediatric and adult neurology residents. Nonetheless, larger sample size studies are required to further validate these findings.