A Comparative Study of Online Medical Procedure Learning via Video Versus Text Modalities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Online learning has become the alternative in medical education during the coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We aimed to compare the efficacy of utilizing video and text modalities in knowledge acquisition of a new clinical procedure in medical students during the COVID-19 lockdown. Methods: The target population were recruited via convenience sampling and allocated by simple randomization. The chosen clinical procedure was knee arthrocentesis, which participants with prior experience were excluded. Participants were instructed to either watch a demonstration video or read a transcribed manuscript once, before answering 10 multiple choice questions on the procedure. Outcome measure was the average test score in each group. Results: Demographic characteristics were comparable between the research arms (video n= 56, text n=59). The median score of the video group (median = 8, IQR 7-9) was statistically higher than the text group (median = 6, IQR 4-8) (p<0.01). Higher proportions of correct answers were noted in the video group in each individual questions. Conclusion: Demonstration video is superior to text-based modality for knowledge acquisition of a new medical procedure. Therefore, the use of video tutorial is encouraged during the COVID-19 online learning phase, to ensure students have a solid knowledge foundation ready for when clerkship resumes.