The <it>Physiotherapy eSkills Training Online</it> resource improves performance of practical skills: a controlled trial

• Main Authors: Preston Elisabeth, Ada Louise, Dean Catherine M, Stanton Rosalyn, Waddington Gordon, Canning Colleen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2012-11-01
• Series: BMC Medical Education
• Subjects: E-learning; Physiotherapy students; Stroke; Practical skills
• Online Access: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/12/119

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>E-learning is a common and popular mode of educational delivery, but little is known about its effectiveness in teaching practical skills. The aim of this study was to determine whether the <it>Physiotherapy eSkills Training Online</it> resource in addition to usual teaching improved the performance of practical skills in physiotherapy students.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>This study was a non-randomised controlled trial. The participants were graduate entry physiotherapy students enrolled in consecutive semesters of a neurological physiotherapy unit of study. The experimental group received the <it>Physiotherapy eSkills Training Online</it> resource as well as usual teaching. The <it>Physiotherapy eSkills Training Online</it> resource is an online resource incorporating (i) video-clips of patient-therapist simulations; (ii) supportive text describing the aim, rationale, equipment, key points, common errors and methods of progression; and (iii) a downloadable PDF document incorporating the online text information and a still image of the video-clip for each practical skill. The control group received usual teaching only. The primary outcomes were the overall performance of practical skills as well as their individual components, measured using a practical examination.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The implementation of the <it>Physiotherapy eSkills Training Online</it> resource resulted in an increase of 1.6 out of 25 (95% CI −0.1 to 3.3) in the experimental group compared with the control group. In addition, the experimental group scored 0.5 points out of 4 (95% CI 0 to 1.1) higher than the control group for ‘effectiveness of the practical skill’ and 0.6 points out of 4 (95% CI 0.1 to 1.1) higher for ‘rationale for the practical skill’.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There was improvement in performance of practical skills in students who had access to the <it>Physiotherapy eSkills Training Online</it> resource in addition to usual teaching. Students considered the resource to be very useful for learning.</p>