E-learning Teaching During Anesthesia Residency

Pedagogical Impact of Different Levels of E-learning Teaching During Anesthesia Residency: a Randomized Clinical Trial

E-learning is in expansion although its pedagogical performance has not been validated in the anesthesia residency. E-learning can be divided into passive e-learning; guided e-learning, interactive e-learning, and adaptive e-learning. The objective was to compare the impact of passive e-learning versus interactive e-learning on anesthesia residents' acquisition of theoretical knowledge and clinical reasoning.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Anesthesia; Learning; Resident Education
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Interactive e-learning-group

Detailed Description

The participants first have a pre-test consisting of a clinical case and a script concordance test (SCT). The clinical case was designed to evaluate theoretical clinical knowledge. The clinical case scored 50 points and consisted of 4 open-ended questions (12,5 points for each question) on the management and complications of the diabetic patient in anesthesia. The SCT consisted of 15 questions on the management of the diabetic patient in anesthesia (degenerative neuropathy, ischemic cardiopathy, intubation, management of hyperglycemia, postoperative complications) and was also scored out of 50 points. The participants had 15 minutes for the clinical case and 15 minutes for the SCT.

The pre-test was conducted in a double-blind way, each participant did not know in which group they would be. Each test had a double-blind correction by two senior anesthesiologists. The participants were then randomized to either the Interactive-EL group (Int-EL group) or a Passive-EL group (Pass-EL group).

The Int-EL group had full access to a pedagogical internet platform with online documents; national experts' recommendations on the management of diabetic patients in anesthesia, slide presentation lectures on the topic by local university teachers, and, the possibility to contact a virtual mentor (anaesthesiologist of our department) by email for interactive discussion or questions about the topic.

The Pass-EL group only received by email the documents (French experts' recommendations and slide presentation lectures on the management of diabetic patients in anesthesia) and did not have access to the pedagogical internet platform. The e-learning training period was one month for both groups. The investigators then conducted, in both groups, a post-test composed of the same clinical case and the same SCT.

The time allotted for the post-test was identical to that of the pre-test, and students were not allowed to access external resources during either test.

Each test had a double-blind grading by two senior anesthesiologists.

The tests were developed by two experts in anesthesiology and medical education within our department. The participants in the Pass-EL group had the option to access the platform at the end of the study to complete the e-learning course, should they choose to do so.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 54
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• All anesthesiology residents from first to fourth year in both centers (participants)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Exclusion criteria included residents missing the pre-or post-tests or refusing to participate in the training program.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Passive-E-Learning group (received by email the documents and didn't have access to the platform); The Passive-E-Learning group only received by email the documents (French experts' recommendations and slide presentation lectures on the management of diabetic patients in anesthesia) and did not have access to the pedagogical internet platform.
Experimental: Interactive-E-Learning group; The interactive-E-Learning group (Int-EL group) had full access to a pedagogical internet platform with online documents; national experts' recommendations on the management of the diabetic patient in anesthesia, slides presentation lectures on the topic by local university teachers, and, the possibility to contact a virtual mentor (anaesthesiologist of our department) by email for interactive discussion or questions about the topic. The course website was constructed using an online secured program with a unique identification form and password for each resident of the Int-EL group.	Procedure: Interactive e-learning-group; The Interactive-E-learning group had full access to a pedagogical internet platform with online documents; national experts' recommendations on the management of diabetic patients in anesthesia, slide presentation lectures on the topic by local university teachers, and, the possibility to contact a virtual mentor (anaesthesiologist of our department) by email for interactive discussion or questions about the topic.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Comparison of the theoretical clinical knowledge score between the two e-learning groups	The score used was the means of the paired within-subject differences (delta) of clinical knowledge scores (pre-and post-test). The score could range from 0 to 50 points.	One month after pre-test

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The comparison of clinical reasoning scores between the two e-learning groups	Evaluated by the paired within-subject differences (delta) SCT scores (pre-and post-test). The score could range from 0 to 50 points.	one month
Self-reported difficulty in accessing the pedagogical platform for the Int-EL group and the access to the documents for the Pass-EL group.	"easy", "medium to difficult" and "difficult"	one month
Self-reported difficulty to validate the MCQs felt by the students of the Int-EL group.	"easy", "medium to difficult" and "difficult"	one month
Self-reported e-learning usage between the two e-learning groups of the means.	The reporting time of e-learning usage was in minutes	One month
Student satisfaction score between the two e-learning groups	Satisfaction score ranging from 0 to 10.	One month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Rouen

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 24, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 8, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): August 13, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 13, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 8, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: E-learning; resident education; anesthesia residency; computer-assisted learning; clinical knowledge assessment
• Other Study ID Numbers: E2015-53

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No