Struggle in the bubble – a prospective study on the effect of remote learning and distance education on confidence in practical surgical skills acquired during COVID-19 | BMC Medical Education

Struggle in the bubble – a prospective study on the effect of remote learning and distance education on confidence in practical surgical skills acquired during COVID-19 | BMC Medical Education

Demographics

A total of 232 out of 244 medical students completed both the baseline and follow-up questionnaire-based surveys, resulting in a response rate of 95{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}. Demographic data was comparable between the two cohorts (Table 1).

Table 1 Baseline comparison of the characteristics of participants belonging to the COV-19 and postCOV- 19 cohorts

Improvement in self-confidence for unit 1

First, it was evaluated whether the respective teaching methods in both cohorts resulted in an improvement in the self-confidence of students regarding their surgical skills. While analyzing unit 1 (sterile working), we found that both the COV-19 (Fig. 2A) and postCOV-19 (Fig. 2B) cohorts showed significant improvement in post-course confidence compared to pre-course confidence. This result was observed for all five subcategories of unit 1 (Table 2).

Fig. 2
figure 2

Self-assessment comparing pre- and post-course confidence of COV-19 and postCOV-19. Spider web graphs displaying the difference between pre- (full line) and post- (dotted line) course self-assessment. Unit 1 (sterile working): A (COV-19) + B (postCOV-19); unit 2 (knot tying and skin suturing): C (COV-19) + D (postCOV-19); unit 3 (history and physical): E (COV-19) + F (postCOV-19). COV-19 = cohort of summer semester 2021 (full COVID-19 restrictions), postCOV-19 = cohort of winter semester 2021/2022 (reduced COVID-19 restrictions)

Table 2 Self-assessment of pre- and post-course confidence of unit 1

Improvement in self-confidence for unit 2

While analyzing unit 2 (knot tying and skin suturing), we observed that both the COV-19 (Fig. 2C) and postCOV-19 (Fig. 2D) cohorts exhibited significant improvement in post-course confidence compared to pre-course confidence. This result was similar for all five subcategories of unit 2 (Table 3).

Table 3 Self-assessment of pre- and post-course confidence of unit 2

Improvement in self-confidence for unit 3

Upon analyzing unit 3 (history and physical), we identified that both, the COV-19 (Fig. 2E) and postCOV-19 (Fig. 2F) cohorts, revealed significant improvement in post-course confidence compared to pre-course confidence. This result was observed for all three subcategories of unit 3 (Table 4).

Table 4 Self-assessment of pre- and post-course confidence of unit 3

Having established that both the traditional interactive face-to-face hands-on courses and the newly developed interactive remote learning courses were able to significantly improve the confidence of medical students regarding basic surgical skills, it was necessary to determine the course that resulted in a higher difference between the pre- and post-course confidence and the subgroup of students that would benefit the most from a particular teaching method. Subgroup analysis was performed based on sex (male/female), age group (19–22 years/23–29 years/≥30 years), and prior surgical experience (with and without prior surgical experience) for evaluating the difference between the pre- and post-course self-assessment (Δ self-assessment).

Subgroup analysis

Sex

The cohorts were first stratified based on the sex (male or female) of the participants, and the subgroup that benefited the most from a particular learning method was determined. For unit 1, the mean Δ self-assessment in the COV-19 cohort was significantly higher in male students (1.96) than in female students (1.44) (p = 0.0003). However, in the postCOV-19 cohort, the mean Δ self-assessment was significantly higher in female students (1.57) compared to male students (1.29) (p = 0.0372) (Fig. 3A).

Fig. 3
figure 3

Subgroup analysis comparing pre- and post-course self-assessment (Δ self-assessment). A subgroup (sex: male vs. female) analysis for differences in Δ self-assessment, B) subgroup (age: 19–22 years vs. 23–29 years vs. ≥ 30 years) analysis for differences in Δ self-assessment, C) subgroup (prior surgical experience: with vs. without surgical experience) analysis for differences in Δ self-assessment, D) analysis for differences in Δ self-assessment comparing COV-19 vs. postCOV-19. Data are presented as mean and compared using Student’s t-test or ANOVA. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Significance is indicated by the following symbols: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.00001, ns = not significant. COV-19 = cohort of summer semester 2021 (full COVID-19 restrictions), postCOV-19 = cohort of winter semester 2021/2022 (reduced COVID-19 restrictions)

For unit 2, the mean Δ self-assessment in the COV-19 cohort was significantly higher in male students (2.59) compared to female students (2.16) (p < 0.0001), whereas no significant difference between males (1.92) and females (2.01) was observed in the mean Δ self-assessment in the postCOV-19 cohort (p = 0.0813) (Fig. 3A).

Nonetheless, for unit 3, we found that the mean Δ self-assessment was comparable between the female and male groups in both cohorts (Fig. 3A).

Age

The two cohorts were stratified based on age, which resulted in three subgroups: 19–22, 23–29, and ≥ 30 years. For unit 1, we found that the mean Δ self-assessment in the COV-19 cohort was the highest for the participants in the age group of 23–29 years (mean Δ self-assessment = 19–22 years: 1.51; 23–29 years: 1.82; ≥30 years: 1.42). Furthermore, the mean Δ self-assessment was significantly higher in students of ages 23–29 years compared to those in the age group of 19–22 years (p = 0.0234). However, no significant differences in the mean Δ self-assessment were observed between the subgroups 19–22 years and ≥ 30 years (p = 0.8443), as well as the subgroups 23–29 years and ≥ 30 years (p = 0.0761).

By contrast, the mean Δ self-assessment of unit 1 did not vary significantly between different age groups in the postCOV-19 (mean Δ self-assessment = 19–22 years: 1.58; 23–29 years: 1.33; ≥30 years: 1.23) cohort (Fig. 3B).

Considering unit 2, we determined that the youngest (19–22 years) subgroup exhibited the maximum improvement in self-assessment for the COV-19 and post-COV19 cohorts. In the COV-19 cohort, the mean Δ self-assessment was significantly higher in the subgroup with participants aged 19–22 years compared to the subgroup with participants aged 23–29 years (p = 0.0017). However, there was no significant difference between the subgroups with participants aged 19–22 years and ≥ 30 years (p = 0.4096), as well as the subgroups with participants aged 23–29 years and ≥ 30 years (p = 0.5073).

In the postCOV-19 cohort, the mean Δ self-assessment was significantly higher in the subgroup with participants aged 19–22 years compared to the subgroups with participants aged 23–29 years (p = 0.0020) and ≥ 30 years (p = 0.0017). In contrast, there was no significant difference observed between the mean Δ self-assessment of the subgroups with participants aged 23–29 years and ≥ 30 years (p = 0.2499) (Fig. 3B).

Upon analyzing unit 3, the mean Δ self-assessment in the COV-19 cohort was significantly higher in the youngest students (19–22 years) compared to the subgroup with participants aged 23–29 years (p = 0.0061) in COV-19. However, there was no significant difference in the mean Δ self-assessment between the participants aged 19–22 years and ≥ 30 years (p = 0.0934) and 23–29 years and ≥ 30 years (p = 0.9923).

Nonetheless, for unit 3, the mean Δ self-assessment was significantly higher in the subgroup with participants aged ≥30 years compared to subgroups with participants aged 19–22 years (p = 0.0224) and 23–29 years (p = 0.0181) in the postCOV-19 cohort (mean Δ self-assessment = 19–22 years: 1.73; 23–29 years: 1.68; ≥30 years: 2.35). However, no significant difference was noted in the mean Δ self-assessment of subgroups with students aged 19–22 years and 23–29 years (p = 0.9332) in the postCOV-19 cohort (Fig. 3B).

Prior surgical experience

Lastly, the two cohorts were stratified based on prior surgical experience. Students without prior surgical experience showed a significantly higher improvement in their self-assessment of post-course confidence compared to pre-course confidence. This result was found for unit 1 and 2 in the COV-19 (unit 1 = mean Δ self-assessment with surgical experience: 0.58; without surgical experience: 1.74; p < 0.0001; unit 2 = mean Δ self-assessment with surgical experience: 1.65; without surgical experience: 2.14; p < 0.0001) and postCOV-19 cohorts (unit 1 = mean Δ self-assessment with surgical experience: 0.77; without surgical experience: 1.57; p < 0.0001; unit 2 = mean Δ self-assessment with surgical experience: 1.15; without surgical experience: 2.10; p < 0.0001).

However, for unit 3, we observed that the mean Δ self-assessment did not vary significantly between students with and without prior surgical experience in the COV-19 cohort (mean Δ self-assessment with surgical experience: 1.21; without surgical experience: 1.09; p = 0.2242) but was significantly higher for students without surgical experience in the postCOV-19 cohort (mean Δ self-assessment with surgical experience: 1.19; without surgical experience: 1.89; p < 0.0001) (Fig. 3C).

To summarize, the mean Δ self-assessment was the highest in the young (19–22 years) male students without surgical experience in the COV-19 cohort and young (19–22 years) and elderly (≥30 years) female students without surgical experience in the postCOV-19 cohort.

Finally, we compared the mean Δ self-assessment of both cohorts using each unit. Both, the COV-19 (Δ self-assessment: 1.58) and postCOV-19 (Δ self-assessment: 1.46) cohorts showed comparable (p = 0.1485) results for unit 1. For unit 2, the mean Δ self-assessment was significantly (p < 0.0001) higher in the COV-19 cohort (Δ self-assessment: 2.26) compared to the postCOV-19 (Δ self-assessment: 1.98). In contrast, for unit 3, the Δ self-assessment was significantly (p < 0.0001) higher in the postCOV-19 cohort (Δ self-assessment: 1.76) compared to the COV-19 cohort (Δ self-assessment: 1.1) (Fig. 3D).

Dance therapy builds confidence in Louisiana youth | Louisiana Inspired

Dance therapy builds confidence in Louisiana youth | Louisiana Inspired







dance therhappy 1

Rinata Shantell Hollins, far appropriate, stretches with young students for the duration of a dance session at Dance tHerAPPY in Baton Rouge. The program’s mission is to assistance youth ages 3-18 develop confidence by cultivating their artistic items.




Rinata Shantell Hollins never ever claimed to have the willowy system of a dancer, but that didn’t indicate she could not dance.

Dance was her enthusiasm, the way she worked her way as a result of bad periods and good. It was usually with her, and it fed her soul.

Simply call it a personal ministry, mainly because that’s what it’s been for Hollins. She enjoys the art variety and its religious benefits so significantly that she sooner or later quit her very well-paying position with the state to open up a Baton Rouge plan to aid youth build self confidence by dance.

“That would be my supreme goal,” Hollins mentioned. “Simply because I felt that as a youth, if there was that human being that pulled me to the aspect and permit me know my really worth and my worth — that I had the right to maintain the area that I maintain and encouraged me to cultivate that gift within of me — I can only imagine where I would be as a dancer and in the arts nowadays.”

So, in August 2017, she opened Dance tHerAPPY, the second phrase pronounced “therapy” but integrated with the phrase “delighted.”

Hollins, both of those founder and director, phone calls Dance tHerAPPY an enrichment center. It very first operated out of the North Park Recreation Heart, then moved to other general public venues right before settling in its long lasting property at 3556 Monterrey Travel, Baton Rouge.

Dance tHerAPPY spells out its mission in a assertion on its website, dancetherhappy.com: “to increase entry to the arts, battle disparities, and supply nutritious alternatives in just the group. We benefit from the car to dance to reduce actual physical inactivity, material abuse, and psychological wellness difficulties. We intention to enable youth and adults develop much healthier life skills, achieve self-confidence, enhance entire body impression, meet up with health objectives, and boost all round properly-becoming. Dance tHerAPPY applies the philosophy that motion is a beneficial outlet of expression. Our mission is to save and empower lives as a result of the artwork of dance.”

Dance tHerAPPY’s pupils, ranging from 3 to 18, signify all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The studio is funded by way of tuition and grants, which either subsidize or cover tuition expenditures for college students whose people may perhaps not be capable to pay for it.







dance therhappy 2

Rinata Shantell Hollins instructs her pupils at the front of a course throughout a dance session at Dance tHerAPPY in Baton Rouge. The program’s mission is to aid youth ages 3-18 establish self esteem by cultivating their artistic presents.




Class ability has been constrained to 30 pupils in the earlier, but Hollins is operating to grow that number in the new calendar year. She is aided by four instructors, who not only teach dance but art and tradition.

“Nicely, of system we’re not clinicians, so we will not do anything as far as medicine-sensible,” Hollins explained. “So if you observe, we have ‘happy’ in our name, and our system is total immersion. For illustration, this yr we’re likely around the world. Very last 12 months we danced via the ten years. So this yr we are, we’re hitting all 7 continents.”

Which suggests students never accurately strike the floor dancing. Very first, they are going to be issued passports, then introduced to academic and theater consultants.

“The academic consultants choose them through the system of discovery via distinctive pursuits,” Hollins said. “Say, for illustration, if they are understanding about Asia, they would truly investigate Asia a very little little bit. They will discover about Asia’s well-liked dance and foodstuff, and then their dance teacher will introduce them to the tunes of Asia. Right after that, they are going to start out heading by means of the dance measures.”

In the meantime, a theater advisor will phase up and instruct pupils about making self confidence on the phase.

“And all along, you also have that mentoring side, exactly where we’re also serving to them to see equity in them selves, that they are deserving of this house,” Hollins stated. “We want them to uncover the full benefit in just themselves. So, as we walk via, they are wholly emerged in the arts to the point that when they strike that stage on July, they can definitely talk by means of motion.”

The July clearly show is the program’s once-a-year conclude-of-the-12 months dance recital. The show was staged in Baton Rouge’s Independence Park Theatre in 2022. Hollins hopes to transfer it to the Shaw Heart for the Arts in 2023.







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Dance tHerHappy college students conduct in the program’s once-a-year year’s finish demonstrate at Independence Park Theatre in Baton Rouge. Director Rinata Shantell Hollins hopes to go the show to the Shaw Heart for the Arts in 2023. 




“The July recital just isn’t just for the college students,” Hollins claimed. “When we say that we conserve and empower life, we are looking to empower the audience, as well, and encourage them. So, when you fully grasp one thing, you can link to people in your viewers in these kinds of a way that just sort of grabs them.”

Hollins said supplying college students the chance to complete on stage also aids them discover much more about themselves and accomplish ambitions.

“You know, performing is some thing you truly have to expertise, and from time to time you can’t even describe it,” she said. “It truly is just an experience. Taking these learners and merging them in the arts lets them to not only get that understanding and being familiar with but also gain wisdom and awareness.”

Hollins is grateful for the prospect to enable her college students establish their self esteem by means of the approach of dance.

“God gave me that vision to give that location and protected space that supplies an choice for youth of all styles, dimensions and financial backgrounds,” she claimed. “And they’re extra than learners to us. We’re on the lookout at the total individual, and we preserve up with them when they leave us. We are grateful to be in which we are and what we do.”

For much more information and facts, contact (225) 341-2336, email [email protected] or visit dancetherappy.com.