Comparative Effectiveness of Video-Based and Bedside Teaching for eFAST Training in Final-Year Medical Students: A Randomised Controlled Educational Trial
Comparative Effectiveness of Video-Based and Bedside Teaching for eFAST Training in Final-Year Medical Students: A Randomised Controlled Educational Trial
This study compared two methods of teaching the Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (eFAST) examination to final-year medical students. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either a 60-minute standardized video-based training session or a 60-minute instructor-led bedside training session. Both groups received the same educational content, for the same duration, from the same instructor.
Within one hour after completing the training, each participant performed an individual eFAST examination on a healthy volunteer. Performance was assessed by an evaluator who was unaware of the participant's training group, using an eFAST Image Acquisition Checklist. The study compared overall immediate eFAST performance between the two teaching methods and also examined performance in individual eFAST examination windows.
This was a single-center, parallel-group, individually randomized educational trial involving final-year medical students undertaking an emergency medicine clerkship. Participants with previous formal ultrasound training or prior practical ultrasound experience were excluded. One hundred consenting participants were randomized, with 50 assigned to standardized video-based eFAST training and 50 assigned to instructor-led bedside eFAST training.
Both interventions lasted 60 minutes and covered the same theoretical and practical eFAST content. Participants underwent an individual practical assessment on a healthy volunteer within one hour after training. Outcome assessors were blinded to training allocation. Performance was assessed using an eFAST Image Acquisition Checklist, which generated an overall score ranging from 0 to 100 and window-specific classifications of error-free performance.
No primary outcome was designated in advance of the analysis. For the present report and retrospective trial registration, the overall eFAST performance score is designated as the primary outcome, while the window-level comparisons are considered exploratory secondary outcomes.
Inclusion Criteria:
Current enrollment as a final-year (sixth-year) medical student at İstanbul Medeniyet University Faculty of Medicine.
Participation in the emergency medicine clerkship during the study period. Provision of written informed consent before randomization.
Exclusion Criteria:
Previous formal ultrasound training. Prior practical ultrasound experience. A physical condition that could interfere with performing an ultrasound examination.
Declining or not providing written informed consent.