Perioperative pain management education: a short structured regional anesthesia course compared with traditional teaching among medical students.
OBJECTIVE
Previous research has demonstrated that a brief course on pain management improved knowledge and attitudes toward analgesic use among medical students. The purpose of this study is to compare a structured clinical instruction course on regional anesthesia techniques for perioperative pain management with traditional teaching given to senior medical students.


METHODS
During a 1-month clerkship in anesthesiology, 40 fourth-year medical students were randomly and equally divided into 2 groups. The study group received a 2-hour structured course on regional anesthesia techniques for pain management, whereas the control group received a 1-hour lecture tutorial on regional anesthesia techniques for perioperative pain management and 1 hour of bedside teaching on acute pain management. Each student completed an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) 2 weeks after completion of the course.


RESULTS
The study group performed better on each of the 11 items of the OSCE and on the total performance scores (mean +/- SD of 36.2 +/- 7.3 for study group versus 14.8 +/- 8.4 for the control group; P < .05). All students rated the clinical course highly valuable (4.7 +/- 0.5).


CONCLUSIONS
A structured clinical instructional course on regional techniques for perioperative pain management given to fourth-year medical students can significantly improve their understanding and knowledge compared with traditional teaching.
Hanna
Marie N
MN
Department of Anesthesiology, The Johns Hopkins University, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. mhanna9@jhmi.edu
Donnelly
Michael B
MB
Montgomery
Christopher L
CL
Sloan
Paul A
PA
D000765:Anesthesia, Conduction; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000193:education; D015142:Baltimore; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013337:Students, Medical; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods