Student assessment of the educational benefits of using a CD-ROM for instruction of basic surgical skills

Rationale for study - At Texas A&M University, introductory-level surgical lecture and laboratory notes were converted to a CD-ROM format that included illustrative photographs as well as instructional videos demonstrating the basic surgical skills that all students were required to master. The CD-ROM was distributed to all students in place of traditional paper notes in the second-year surgical class in the professional veterinary curriculum. The study reported here was designed to evaluate the educational benefits of the use of the CD-ROM in place of traditional paper notes by examining the attitudes and practices of students before and after exposure to the CD-ROM format. Methodology - An anonymous survey was distributed to students in the second-year introductory surgery course on the first day of class and again on the last day of class. Responses to questions were tabulated, response frequencies determined, and Chi-square analysis performed to determine differences between initial and final responses. Results - On the final survey, 89% of students responded that the instructional videos definitely helped them prepare for the laboratory, and 77% responded that they were more likely to practice techniques learned from the CD-ROM videos than those learned from traditional study materials. The majority of students believed that the CD-ROM improved both the course (60%) and their learning experience (62%) as compared to traditional paper notes. Conclusions - Including instructional videos on the CD-ROM enhanced the educational experience of the students by promoting preparedness for laboratories and promoting practice of techniques learned from the videos outside of the laboratory.