Small-group discussion versus lecture format for third-year students in obstetrics and gynecology.
OBJECTIVE
To compare lecture and small-group discussion for third-year medical students in obstetrics and gynecology.


METHODS
Over a 2-year period, 91 third-year medical students in the obstetrics and gynecology clerkships were given educational sessions on diabetes and hypertension in pregnancy by a single instructor, either in a traditional lecture format or in a small-group discussion. After the instructional sessions, students anonymously completed a 20-question multiple-choice examination on the covered topics. They also completed an evaluation form on the instructional format, using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). At the completion of each clerkship, students repeated the same multiple-choice examination.


RESULTS
There was a significantly higher level of enjoyment (median value 5 versus 4, P <.001) and sense of educational stimulation (median value 5 versus 4, P <.001) in the discussion group, and students in the discussion group were less desirous of the alternate instructional format than those in the lecture group (median value 2 versus 3, P <.001). However, there were no differences in the test scores, either immediately after the instructional sessions or at the end of the clerkships. There was a 90% power to detect a 15% difference in postinstructional test scores.


CONCLUSIONS
Third-year medical students learning about hypertension and diabetes in pregnancy during their obstetrics and gynecology clerkship strongly preferred small-group discussions over traditional lectures. However, this preference did not lead to improved test scores on these subjects.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Camden, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, New Jersey, USA. Fischer-richard@cooperhealth.edu
Richard L
RL
Fischer
Samuel L
SL
Jacobs
William N P
WN
Herbert
D000328:Adult; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000193:education; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013663:Teaching