Perception of undergraduate medical students regarding “Reel-Making” as an innovative learning method in ophthalmology: a cross-sectional study | BMC Medical Education

Study setting

This study was conducted in a private medical college in South India among undergraduate students in their third professional year, part I of the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program.

Study period

The study was conducted for two months in July and August 2024.

Ethics

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was obtained from the institutional ethics committee (ref no. FMIEC/CCM/777/2024). Written informed consent was taken from all the participants, and privacy and confidentiality were ensured.

Study design

This was a cross-sectional study to understand the perceptions of undergraduate medical students towards an innovative method of learning. The study employed an innovative method of learning where each batch was divided into 4 groups of 8 each. The groups were tasked with making educational reels about cataract and myopia awareness for the general public along with a set of guidelines.

Population

The study population consisted of third-year undergraduate MBBS students who were posted in Ophthalmology clinics.

Exposure

The exposure involved students creating educational reels about cataract and myopia awareness with the following Guidelines.

• The content created should be original.

• The students were allowed to use the premises and equipment of the Ophthalmology outpatient department without including the patients or staff in their videos.

• Content must not contain explicit material, foul language, or lyrics.

• They were given 2 days to complete the task.

• The time limit for the videos was one minute.

Content of reels.

The content for cataract awareness was covered under the following topics.

• Symptoms of cataract.

• Causes of cataract.

• Treatment of cataract.

• Postoperative care.

The content for myopia awareness was covered under the following topics.

Comparison

A formal comparison group was not established.

Outcome

The outcome of interest was to evaluate the students’ perceptions of the innovative learning method through feedback collected via a questionnaire that was prepared and validated by five faculty members from the Department of Ophthalmology who were also experienced medical educators. (Supplementary file-1) The questionnaire was prepared for this study. Once the students had completed making the reels, the questionnaire was shared via Google Forms. The students were informed that there would not be any assessment of their reels. The semi-structured feedback questionnaire addressed aspects such as evoking interest, peer interaction, participation, and further recommendations. The questionnaire was ensured to be available online for three working days and comprised open-ended questions and closed responses on a five-point Likert scale.

Sample size estimation

In toto sampling was done to include all students of two batches attending clinical postings.

Participant selection: inclusion and exclusion criteria

All third-year undergraduate MBBS students posted in the Ophthalmology clinics were included in the study. There were no specific exclusion criteria.

Sampling and recruitment

Participation was voluntary, and written informed consent was taken from all participants.

Statistical analysis

The statistical analysis involved a combination of descriptive and inferential statistics to gain a comprehensive understanding of the data. Initially, frequency distributions were generated to summarize the data and provide an overview of the responses.

To compare the mean scores of the last two questions between male and female respondents, an independent t-test was employed. This statistical test allowed for the examination of differences in the mean scores between the two groups, providing insight into whether there were any significant differences in the responses based on gender.

Furthermore, a chi-square test was used to compare the feedback responses. This non-parametric test is suitable for categorical data and helped to determine whether there were any significant associations or differences in the feedback provided by the respondents. By using these statistical tests, the analysis provided a more nuanced understanding of the relationships and differences within the dataset, allowing for more informed conclusions to be drawn. P values < 0.05 were taken as significant.

Ethical considerations

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was obtained from the institutional ethics committee (ref no. FMIEC/CCM/777/2024). Written informed consent was taken from all the participants, and privacy and confidentiality were ensured.