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Journal of Medical Education

Abstract

Background: The incidence of critically ill pediatric patients has declined due to decreasing birth rates and advancements in healthcare, resulting in limited clinical exposure for medical students. Nonetheless, the ability to assess and manage critically ill children remains an essential competency in pediatrics. Therefore, a simulation course was developed that integrates scaffolding theory to enhance pediatric assessment among medical students. Methods: The simulation course was designed based on flowcharts and clinical cases with the learning materials being case based featuring first-person roleplays and video simulations. The medical students during rotation in the pediatric department of a teaching hospital in Taiwan were required to complete a pre-test to assess their knowledge acquisition before accessing the course via an online interactive platform involving quizzes, followed by group discussions. Finally, the students were administered a post-test and questionnaire. Results: A total of 107 participants completed the pre-test, post-test, and questionnaire. The test accuracy rate significantly improved from 58.6% to 85.4% (p < 0.01) and the questionnaire revealed high levels of confidence (4.189), engagement (4.952), focus (4.832), and satisfaction (4.879). Satisfaction was positively correlated with improvement and confidence, which is consistent with the theory of self-efficacy. Moreover, the thematic analysis of the feedback from 60 students revealed categories: learning efficiency, practicality, positive emotion, engaging teaching methods, and enhanced clinical reasoning. Conclusions: Integrating simulation with scaffolding theory in pediatric assessment training for critical patients enhances learning, reduces cognitive load, and boosts self-efficacy. The qualitative analysis suggests that such an educational approach effectively promotes learning, reasoning and affective outcomes.

First Page

147

Last Page

154

DOI

10.6145/jme.202409_28(3).0001

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