Abstract:

Introduction:
Our Advanced Training in Clinical Simulation (ATCS) center has fostered the learner’s self-directed learning since its inception so that the student can achieve the desired learning outcome. However, the student-self-initiated program was not organized enough, together with the lack of student motivation has made this program ineffective. Learning from the mistakes, ATCS has organized this pilot study to provide opportunities for the students to practice the skills and receive feedback from the raters until they get the desired outcome. Research question: Do these self-directed learning opportunities help the students to achieve the desired learning outcomes?

Method:
Descriptive cross-sectional study. The sample participating in the study was students who voluntarily signed up for the experience. Students are guided at the beginning of the hour (Briefing) to understand how the station run takes place. A total of 4 skill stations are marked in order 1- Intravenous Injection (I.V); 2- Blood pressure measurement; 3-Injury first aid; 4-Basic life support (BLS). The duration of each station is 8 minutes. After each station, students will be given feedback on their skills by a rater so that they can self-assess their strengths and weakness to improve. The survey questionnaire was sent via the Google Form link to all students who participated in the experiment.

Results and discussion:
A total of 122 students participated in the simulation self-study session. To accommodate a large number of learners, students are divided into 4 groups to go to 4 skill stations: I.V., blood pressure measurement, injury first aid, and BLS. Most (>99%) students are satisfied with the self-study session and the support team. The student needs assessment on achieving learning outcomes, level of confidence after the self-study session, and willingness to participate in additional simulation experiences. 58% of students self-identified that they made mistakes while performing skills. At all stations, the score in the final exam of the self-study group in the form of a station camp was higher than that of the other group. This difference is statistically significant at blood pressure measurement and emergency resuscitation stations with p of 0.03 and 0.04, respectively.

Conclusion:
Repeated practice with constructive feedback is essential for students to achieve the desired outcomes. Our pilot study has demonstrated the effectiveness of self-directed- learning in improving the students’ scores of blood pressure measurement skills and basic life support.
The results of this study suggest that the simulation centers should consider offering more self-directed simulation experiences with constructive feedback to the learners

Keywords:

Vietnamese, Medical Students, Self-directed Learning, Simulation, Feedback.