Evaluating the Efficacy of an Online Learning Tool for EEG Teaching: A Prospective Cohort Study

Competence of healthcare professionals performing electroencephalography test: A systematic review

Objective

To describe the EEG competence of healthcare professionals and how this competence has been measured in previous literature.

Methods

A systematic review following the preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. A literature search was conducted in CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases focusing on studies that empirically examined the EEG competence of healthcare professionals.

Results

A total of 28 studies were included. EEG competence consists of two main categories: knowledge and skills of EEG, and attitudes and values towards EEG. The EEG competence of healthcare professionals was assessed in three different settings: tests, simulations, and real life. The data collection methods were knowledge tests, self-assessments, and observations. The tools were developed by a researcher(s) for the single study and were not psychometrically tested.

Conclusion

EEG competence is a multidimensional concept that includes knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that need to be considered when defining EEG competence and developing tools to measure it.

Significance

This systematic review provides information to the educators of healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations involved in developing comprehensive EEG training programs and assessments to foster professional development and ensure reliable diagnostic test results for patients.

What Do You See? Signature Pedagogy in Continuous Electroencephalography Teaching

PURPOSE

Electroencephalography (EEG) is commonly used in neurology, but there is variability in how neurologists interpret EEGs, potentially from variability in EEG teaching. Little is known about how EEG teaching is done to prepare neurologists for professional practice.

METHODS

We interviewed a group of EEG experts to characterize their teaching practices around continuous EEG (cEEG). We used signature pedagogy as a framework to analyze and interpret the data.

RESULTS

We identified pervasive and characteristic forms of cEEG teaching. Teaching is based on apprenticeship, relying on "learning by doing" in the context of real-life clinical practice. There are habitual steps that learners take to anchor teaching, which typically occurs during rounds. There is a common language and core knowledge that trainees need to master early in their training.

CONCLUSIONS

There are pervasive characteristic forms of cEEG teaching. These findings can help facilitate instructional design and implementation of complementary or enhanced cEEG teaching practices.

Feasibility and utilization of a national virtual EEG course for Canadian residents and fellows

OBJECTIVE

Electroencephalography (EEG) is an essential tool for the diagnosis and management of epilepsy. There is a gap in EEG education for residents in Canadian neurology programs as EEG is only listed in the training requirements as a procedural skill. There is currently no standardized EEG curriculum among Canadian epilepsy fellowship programs.

METHODS

We conducted two iterations of a structured virtual EEG course from June to October 2021, and from March to June 2022. Trainees were recruited via Canadian neurology residency and epilepsy fellowship programs and were required to join the Canadian League Against Epilepsy (CLAE) as junior members. We obtained trainee demographic information before and after each course as well as analytical data on the video recordings posted on the CLAE website.

RESULTS

A total of 77 trainees registered for the two courses; majority of trainees were adult neurology residents (34%) and adult epilepsy fellows (32%). Prior theoretical EEG teaching was reported as limited by more than half (53%) of participants. The average number of unique viewers per recorded video in 2021 was 29.7 interquartile range (16-35.5), while in 2022, the average was 22.5, interquartile range (16-28). Post-course questionnaire data revealed that 82% of participants strongly agreed that the course enhanced their knowledge. All participants were either likely (27%) or very likely (73%) to recommend the course to their peers.

SIGNIFICANCE

National virtual EEG education is both feasible and accessible; therefore, this is a promising modality of teaching to meet the significant demand for high-quality EEG education among neurology trainees.

Short-term educational value of online neuromuscular ultrasound courses

INTRODUCTION/AIMS

We have previously reported that online neuromuscular ultrasound courses are feasible and were found to be useful by most survey respondents. However, our previous report lacked objective assessment of the educational value of the courses. Therefore, we aimed in this study to evaluate the learning outcomes of online neuromuscular ultrasound courses.

METHODS

Each of the basic and advanced courses featured one pre- and two post-course online knowledge tests. The percentage of corrected answers and the participants' scores in the three tests were calculated and compared.

RESULTS

A total of 153 out of 277 course participants answered the course test. The mean percentage of correct answers were significantly higher in the second and first post-course tests compared to the pre-course test (Basic course test: 80.2 ± 14.8%, 75.5 ± 15.9%, 64.3 ± 19.1%, respectively; Advanced course test: 80.9 ± 20.1, 78.9 ± 15.2%, 69.5 ± 20.2%, respectively). The mean scores of the participants in the basic course test significantly improved in the first and second post-course tests (from 66.6% to 77.5% and from 67.2% to 80.2%, respectively) whereas those of the participants in the advanced course test significantly improved in the first post-course test only (from 76.3% to 85.4%).

DISCUSSION

This report demonstrates the capability of online neuromuscular ultrasound courses, particularly the basic-level courses, to enhance knowledge. This information can further help integrate virtual neuromuscular ultrasound teaching as a standard complementary educational format together with supervised in-person or remote hands-on training.