Teaching digital rectal examinations to medical students: an evaluation study of teaching methods.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE:
The digital rectal examination (DRE) is a necessary part of a complete physical examination and evaluation of a patient, yet teaching of this examination to medical students is often inadequate. This study was a comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of the rectal teaching associate (RTA), lecture, role-playing, and simulated models as methods for teaching the DRE procedure to undergraduate medical students at Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty of Medicine.

METHOD:
A total of 65 third-year medical students were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Both groups received a lecture and practiced the DRE on a simulated model. The experimental group received further training from an RTA. Students completed a pre- and post-intervention knowledge assessment, an objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) measuring performance of the DRE, and a satisfaction survey.

RESULTS:
Mean knowledge scores increased significantly for both groups (18.73 to 22.32, p <.0001). The control group scored significantly higher on the post-intervention assessment than did the experimental group (23.11 versus 21.47, p =.025) The experimental group scored higher on the OSCE (27.52 versus 23.80, p =.001) and rated the RTA as a more effective method for learning the DRE.

CONCLUSIONS:
This first study using RTAs to teach the DRE as a global skill for evaluating the rectum suggests that the RTA method is effective for increasing skills and students' confidence in the procedure.

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Author information

Author/s: Popadiuk, Cathy (C); Pottle, Madge (M); Curran, Vernon (V);

Affiliation: Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty of Medicine, St. John's, Canada. cpopadiu(-atsign-)mun.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal: Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges (Acad Med), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Nov; vol 77 (issue 11) : pp 1140-6

Dates: Created 2002/11/14; Completed 2002/12/04; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 12431929, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Curriculum
Education, Medical, Undergraduate - methods
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Female
Humans

Humans
Male
Physical Examination - methods
Rectum
Role Playing

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