Simulation-based teaching and self-confidence promotion in medical students

Abstract

Through the last decades, Realistic Simulation for medical undergraduates has been consolidated as an important active learning method, known as Simulation Based Learning, a strategy able to foster self-confidence and courage to act in real situations as the medical students develop skills, attitudes and values related to the medical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of realistic simulation in the teaching of pediatric emergencies in terms of promoting self-confidence in undergraduate among medical students. A prospective interventional study was conducted in a medical course at a public University in Brazil. The study sample included 40 medical students from the fourth to the eighth semesters of the course. The group attended to a workshop on pediatric emergencies entitled “Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in pediatrics” and at the end of this activity they engaged in a realistic simulation exercise. Then, a Scale for satisfaction and self-confidence, translated and validated for Portuguese in 2015, was applied to the medical students.The average age of the students ranged between 21.8 and 22.2 yo. As for gender, 60% were male and 40% female. Most students (67.5%) were in the fourth semester of the course and for 80 of them, this simulation activity represented their first experience with this learning method. In terms of self-confidence, 97% of the participants felt confident about the content of the simulation activity. Moreover, all the students involved in simulation activity felt more confident to act in a similar scenario in the real- life medical practice. Self-confidence resulting from realistic simulation can foster positive attitudinal changes among medical undergraduates. Higher self-confidence levels among medical students and physicians are related to more successful medical interventions as they can practice, test, and improve their medical skills before being exposed to similar real-life medical situations. Accordingly, there is a greater need to implement realistic simulations as an active learning methodology in the undergraduate medical curriculum.