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 video-assisted 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.