Working with patients with alcohol problems: a controlled trial of the impact of a rich media web module on medical student performance.
OBJECTIVE
We designed an interactive web module to improve medical student competence in screening and interventions for hazardous drinking. We assessed its impact on performance with a standardized patient (SP) vs. traditional lecture.


METHODS
First year medical school curriculum.


METHODS
The web module included pre/posttests, Flash(c), and text didactics. It centered on videos of two alcohol cases, each contrasting a novice with an experienced physician interviewer. The learner free-text critiqued each clip then reviewed expert analysis.


RESULTS
First year medical students conveniently assigned to voluntarily complete a web module (N = 82) or lecture (N = 81) were rated by a SP in a later alcohol case. Participation trended higher (82% vs. 72%, p < .07) among web students, with an additional 4 lecture-assigned students crossing to the web module. The web group had higher mean scores on scales of individual components of brief intervention (assessment and decisional balance) and a brief intervention composite score (1-13 pt.; 9 vs. 7.8, p < .02) and self-reported as better prepared for the SP case.


CONCLUSIONS
A web module for alcohol use interview skills reached a greater proportion of voluntary learners and was associated with equivalent overall performance scores and higher brief intervention skills scores on a standardized patient encounter.
Lee
Joshua D
JD
Division of General Internal Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. joshua.lee@med.nyu.edu
Triola
Marc
M
Gillespie
Colleen
C
Gourevitch
Marc N
MN
Hanley
Kathleen
K
Truncali
Andrea
A
Zabar
Sondra
S
Kalet
Adina
A
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008487:Medical History Taking