Pediatrics · Medical Literature
Integration of Standardised Patient Teaching Videos and Simulation-Based Medical Education in Paediatric Residency Training.
Abstract
This study focused on investigating the educational value of combining standardised patient (SP) teaching videos with simulation-based medical education (SBME) in paediatric resident training. Forty paediatric resident trainees (June 2023-June 2024) were randomised into a control group (n = 20, routine teaching) and a study group (n = 20, routine teaching plus SP videos and SBME). Upon completion of the rotation, participants were assessed on clinical skills, clinical reasoning and theoretical knowledge. Professional qualities (questioning skills, information gathering, information provision and understanding patient perspectives), learning ability, learning interest, teamwork, mastery of subject content and teaching satisfaction were also evaluated. The study group achieved higher scores in clinical skills and clinical thinking (p 0.05). Professional quality, learning ability, interest, teamwork and mastery of medical interview, communication, humanistic care and overall clinical competence were all superior in the study group (p 0.05). Satisfaction with teachers' attitude, teaching methods and teaching effectiveness was higher in the study group (p 0.05). The combination of SP teaching videos and SBME enhances clinical skills, professional qualities, engagement and satisfaction in paediatric resident education, offering a valuable supplement to conventional teaching.
Clinical relevance
Does the integration of standardised patient (SP) teaching videos with simulation-based medical education (SBME), added to routine teaching, improve clinical skills, clinical reasoning, professional qualities, and educational satisfaction in paediatric resident trainees compared with routine teaching alone? __SNAPSHOT__ {"studyDesign":"Randomized controlled trial (two-arm, parallel-group)","setting":"Not reported (single institution implied; likely China based on authorship; institutional type not specified)","sampleSize":"n = 40 (intervention/study group: n = 20; control group: n = 20)","population":"Paediatric resident trainees enrolled during a one-year training rotation period (June 2023 – June 2024); additional inclusion/exclusion criteria not reported in abstract","intervention":"Routine teaching PLUS standardised patient (SP) teaching videos AND simulation-based medical education (SBME)","comparator":"Routine teaching alone","primaryOutcome":"Not formally designated as a single primary endpoint in the abstract; assessed outcomes included clinical skills scores, clinical reasoning scores, theoretical knowledge scores, professional quality subscores (questioning skills, information gathering, information provision, understanding patient perspectives), learning ability, learning interest, teamwork, mastery of subject content, and teaching satisfaction","followUp":"Duration of one paediatric rotation (exact weeks/months not reported; implied to be within the June 2023 – June 2024 training year)","fundingSource":"Not reported"}
Key findings
The study group (SP videos + SBME + routine teaching) achieved statistically significantly higher scores in clinical skills and clinical thinking compared with the control group (p 0.05). All assessed professional quality subdomains — questioning skills, information gathering, information provision, and understanding patient perspectives — were significantly superior in the study group (p < 0.05). Additionally, the study group demonstrated significantly better learning ability, learning interest, teamwork, mastery of medical interview skills, communication, humanistic care, and overall clinical competence (p < 0.05 for all). Teaching satisfaction was also higher in the study group (p < 0.05). No absolute score values, mean differences, standard deviations, confidence intervals, effect sizes, or NNT/NNH were reported in the abstract. The abstract appears truncated (ending at 'p < 0'), and any further numerical data that may exist in the full publication are not available from the abstract alone.
Practice implications
This study suggests that supplementing routine paediatric residency teaching with SP teaching videos and SBME confers measurable improvements in clinical skills, clinical reasoning, communication, professional quality, and learner engagement, while not producing an advantage for rote theoretical knowledge acquisition. The findings apply specifically to paediatric residents within a single, unspecified institutional context over one training year; generalizability to other residency programs, health systems, or different levels of training (e.g., medical students, subspecialty fellows) is not established. Patients who are typically encountered in paediatric training rotations are implicitly represented, but case mix, complexity, and trainee baseline characteristics are not described, limiting inference about which resident subgroups benefit most. Critically, only abstract-level data are available; the full dataset, including exact scores, effect magnitudes, confidence intervals, randomization methodology, allocation concealment, blinding strategy, and fidelity of intervention delivery have not been reviewed. The statistically significant differences reported do not permit conclusions about clinical or educational meaningfulness in the absence of effect size data. No patient-level outcomes (e.g., clinical error rates, patient safety events) were assessed. Routine practice change based solely on this abstract is premature; however, the findings are directionally consistent with the broader simulation literature and may inform program-level decisions to pilot similar curricula. __LIMITATIONS__ Very small sample size (n = 20 per arm) markedly limits statistical power, precision of effect estimates, and generalizability.,No reporting of absolute score values, mean differences, standard deviations, or confidence intervals in the available abstract, precluding assessment of clinical magnitude of observed differences.,Institutional setting and country not explicitly stated, limiting external validity.,Blinding of participants to group assignment is inherently impossible in educational interventions of this type; blinding of assessors is not reported.,Multiple simultaneous outcome testing across many domains without reported correction for multiplicity (e.g., Bonferroni) increases the risk of false-positive findings.,No long-term follow-up: it is unknown whether observed improvements persist beyond the rotation.,No patient-level or downstream clinical outcome data reported; all endpoints are surrogate educational measures.,The specific content, duration, frequency, and standardisation of the SP videos and SBME sessions are not described, making replication difficult.,Baseline equivalence of the two groups on prior clinical skills or knowledge is not reported.,Funding source is not disclosed, and risk of institutional bias cannot be assessed.,Abstract appears truncated, suggesting possible incomplete reporting of results. __BOTTOM_LINE_CATEGORY__ promising_but_preliminary __BOTTOM_LINE__ In this small single-center RCT (n = 40), paediatric residents receiving SP teaching videos combined with SBME alongside routine teaching showed statistically significant improvements in clinical skills, clinical reasoning, professional qualities, and teaching satisfaction compared with routine teaching alone, with no advantage in theoretical knowledge. Given the very small sample, absence of effect size data, surrogate-only endpoints, and abstract-only availability, these findings are hypothesis-generating rather than practice-defining. Educators may consider piloting this combined approach as an adjunct to established curricula, pending replication in larger, multi-site studies with patient-level outcomes.
Evidence appraisal
Methodology critique
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