Two Weeks in Anesthesia and Learner’s Satisfaction: the Impact of Different Teaching Methods

Abstract

Background: Difference in teaching methods can influence learner satisfaction. Didactic lecture has become a less effective teaching method for clinical year medical students. Since 2009, Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj hospital, Thailand has complied to a new policy on decreasing of didactic lecture. The purpose of this study is to evaluate undergraduate anesthesia educational program by learners’ satisfaction survey. Methods: At the end of 2 weeks rotation, 5th-year medical students of the first half of the year 2013 class were asked to anonymously complete the questionnaires about their overall satisfaction level and to rank their three most satisfied and unsatisfied teaching methods among eight activities; lecture, skill lab, clinical attachment at GI endoscopy suite, teaching of basic skills in anesthesia in OR, bedside teaching in OR, small group discussion, case presentation, and simulation. Results: 150 questionnaires (100%) were returned and analyzed. The overall satisfaction level was 7.4 of 10. The satisfied activities were simulation (23%), the teaching of basic skills in OR (21%), and bedside teaching in OR (15%). The unsatisfied methods were case presentation (30%), small group discussion (29%), and lecture (20.5%). However, 73.3% of students put more than three ranks in each category. Thirty eight percent of students did not report any unsatisfied methods. Conclusion: Overall satisfaction rate was relatively high. The students tended to like hands-on more than classroom-based activities.