title: Training auscultatory skills: computer simulated heart sounds or additional bedside training? A randomized trial on third-year medical students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present study compares the value of additional use of computer simulated heart sounds, to conventional bedside auscultation training, on the cardiac auscultation skills of 3rd year medical students at Oslo University Medical School.
  
  
  METHODS
  In addition to their usual curriculum courses, groups of seven students each were randomized to receive four hours of additional auscultation training either employing a computer simulator system or adding on more conventional bedside training. Cardiac auscultation skills were afterwards tested using live patients. Each student gave a written description of the auscultation findings in four selected patients, and was rewarded from 0-10 points for each patient. Differences between the two study groups were evaluated using student's t-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the auscultation test no significant difference in mean score was found between the students who had used additional computer based sound simulation compared to additional bedside training.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Students at an early stage of their cardiology training demonstrated equal performance of cardiac auscultation whether they had received an additional short auscultation course based on computer simulated training, or had had additional bedside training.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Øystein
authors.initials: Ø
authors.lastname: Sverdrup
authors.forename: Torstein
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Svein
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Solheim
authors.forename: Knut
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gjesdal
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D015510:Clinical Medicine / Q000193:education*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006326:Heart Auscultation / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009664:Norway; D013337:Students, Medical