Abstract:

Introduction
Most medical teaching is still delivered by traditional face to face interaction. E-learning has the potential benefit of instilling deeper learning of topics by virtue of repeated and convenient access to content presented in a range of media. We aimed to objectively evaluate the benefit of educating medical students on a common surgical topic (haemorrhoids), through a web site and podcast package versus a traditional lecture.

Methods
Baseline knowledge was established by a questionnaire given to two different groups of year three medical students starting their first clinical attachment. Group A (n=73) were given a lecture and group B (n=75) were asked to use a web site containing text and pictures augmented by a podcast. Students were re-assessed with the same pre-intervention questionnaire and satisfaction was acquired from a feedback form.

Results
There was no difference in knowledge between the two groups at baseline. Both groups demonstrated significant gains in knowledge post intervention (p<0.0001). Group B (web/podcast) showed a significantly greater increase in knowledge (p<0.05) than group A (lecture). Pre intervention subjective assessment of knowledge rated by the students showed no difference between the groups. Post intervention both groups of students were equally satisfied with the educational method.

Conclusion
This study suggests that e-learning results in greater knowledge acquisition when compared to traditional lecture without a loss of satisfaction with teaching. Using augmented web based educational tools reduce demands on teaching time with no decrease in quality for selected parts of the curriculum.