Effectiveness of direct demonstration in clinical settings compared to conventional teaching for training medical students in infection control practices

• Author Details:   
• Rajeswarie S ^*
• Praveen K

Background: In today's world, exposing medical students to an environment where they can learn, and apply their knowledge and skills in clinical settings is crucial. One such effective method of achieving, is teaching by Direct Demonstration (DD) of Infection Prevention Control (IPC) practices in clinical settings. This links the basic science knowledge and clinical skill acquisition, allowing the learners to apply IPC in real-time contexts.

Objectives: To compare Direct Demonstration in clinical settings to Conventional Teaching among 2nd year MBBS students and to assess students' perceptions regarding teaching and learning methods.

Materials and Methods: A total of 100 students participated in the study and were randomly divided equally into Group A and Group B. Those participants who were either absent from the sessions or assessments were excluded. Group A underwent DD in clinical settings and Group B underwent Conventional Teaching (CT) on Biomedical Waste Management, Spill management, Hand Hygiene and Donning and Doffing of Gloves, with reversal of Group for alternate procedures. Students' perception was collected immediately after each session. After completion of all the sessions, Objective structured practical examination was conducted for all the procedures in four stations. A total of 94 students met the study inclusion criteria and were subsequently analyzed using unpaired t-test and Mann-Whitney test.

Results: The mean marks obtained by the students in DD for Biomedical waste management, Spillage management, Donning and Doffing of Gloves and Hand hygiene were 8.98±1.31,8.35±1.49,7.31±1.03,8.63±1.41 respectively compared to CT are 8.79±1.20, 8.38±1.38, 6.63±0.87, 8.44±1.95. The p-value was statistically significant only for donning and doffing of gloves. The students’ perception regarding DD and CT yielded a favorable response for DD, which was statistically significant with a p-value of < 0.001.

Conclusion: In our study, DD method enhances IPC but when combined with traditional teaching methods, creates a comprehensive and engaging learning experience.