***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: PURPOSE To evaluate the efficacy of the e-learning course " Genetics of Epilepsies " and to assess the experiences of the participants and e-moderators with this new approach . METHODS Prospect i ve , controlled study with waiting group ( control group , n = 18 ) and e-learning group ( n = 20 ) . The control group got the same reference literature list as the e-learning group . Both groups were assessed twice : The e-learning group before and after the course ; the control group was assessed at the same times . PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE increase in knowledge about genetics of epilepsies using question naires based on items formulated by experts ( internal consistency , Cronbach 's alpha = 0.86 ) . Main hypothesis : greater increase of knowledge in the e-learning group compared to control group . SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES assessment of the educational course and learning environment by participants and by tutors/e-moderators . RESULTS Significant time x group interaction and group effect ( ANOVA , each p < 0.01 ) with regard to knowledge . At baseline , the groups did not differ with respect to knowledge about genetics of epilepsy . In contrast to the control group , the increase of knowledge in the e-learning group was highly significant ( p < 0.001 ) . The majority of the participants of the e-learning course was content with their personal learning process ( 75 % agree , 15 % strongly agree ) . Most of them reported a gain in competence in the treatment and counseling of people with epilepsy ( 38.9 % agree , 50 % strongly agree ) . All participants would recommend this course to others and all but one participant are interested in other e-learning courses . CONCLUSION The study indicates e-learning courses are an appropriate tool to improve knowledge of physicians in genetics of epilepsy BACKGROUND We evaluated the impact of expert instruction during laboratory-based basic surgical skills training on subsequent performance of more complex surgical tasks . METHODS Forty-five junior residents were r and omized to learn basic surgical skills in either a self-directed or faculty-directed fashion . Residents returned to the laboratory 2 days later and were evaluated while performing 2 tasks : skin closure and bowel anastomosis . Outcome measures included Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill , time to completion , final product quality , and resident perceptions . RESULTS Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill , time to completion , and skin esthetic ratings were not better in the faculty-directed group , although isolated improvement in anastomotic leak pressure was seen . Residents perceived faculty-directed training to be superior . CONCLUSIONS Our data provided minimal objective evidence that faculty-directed training improved transfer of learned skills to more complex tasks . Residents perceived that there was a benefit of faculty mentoring . Curriculum factors related to training of basic skills and subsequent transfer to more complex tasks may explain these contrasting results STUDY OBJECTIVE We conducted a prospect i ve , r and omized , controlled trial to test the hypothesis that a 34-minute video self-instruction ( VSI ) training program for adult CPR would yield comparable or better CPR performance than the current community st and ard , the American Heart Association Heartsaver course . METHODS Incoming freshman medical students were r and omly assigned to VSI or the Heartsaver CPR course .  Two to 6 months after training , we tested subjects to determine their ability to perform CPR in a simulated cardiac arrest setting . Blinded observers used explicit criteria to assess our primary outcome , CPR performance skill . In addition , we assessed secondary outcomes including sequential performance of individual skills , ventilation and chest compression characteristics , and written tests of CPR-related knowledge and attitudes . RESULTS VSI trainees displayed superior overall performance compared with traditional trainees . Twenty of 47 traditional trainees ( 43 % ) were judged not competent in their performance of CPR , compared with only 8 of 42 VSI trainees ( 19 % ; absolute difference , 24 % ; 95 % confidence interval , 5 % to 42 % ) . CONCLUSION In a group of incoming freshman medical students , we found that a half-hour of VSI result ed in superior overall CPR performance compared with that in traditional trainees . If vali date d by further research , VSI may provide a simple , quick , and inexpensive alternative to traditional CPR instruction for health care workers and , perhaps , the general population Background To evaluate the educational effects of a clinical ly integrated e-learning course for teaching basic evidence -based medicine ( EBM ) among postgraduates compared to a traditional lecture-based course of equivalent content . Methods We conducted a cluster r and omised controlled trial in the Netherl and s and the UK involving postgraduate trainees in six obstetrics and gynaecology departments . Outcomes ( knowledge gain and change in attitude towards EBM ) were compared between the clinical ly integrated e-learning course ( intervention ) and the traditional lecture based course ( control ) . We measured change from pre- to post-intervention scores using a vali date d question naire assessing knowledge ( primary outcome ) and attitudes ( secondary outcome ) . Results There were six clusters involving teaching of 61 postgraduate trainees ( 28 in the intervention and 33 in the control group ) . The intervention group achieved slightly higher scores for knowledge gain compared to the control , but these results were not statistically significant ( difference in knowledge gain : 3.5 points , 95 % CI -2.7 to 9.8 , p = 0.27 ) . The attitudinal changes were similar for both groups . Conclusion A clinical ly integrated e-learning course was at least as effective as a traditional lecture based course and was well accepted . Being less costly than traditional teaching and allowing for more independent learning through material s that can be easily up date d , there is a place for incorporating e-learning into postgraduate EBM curricula that offer on-the-job training for just-in-time learning . Trial registration Trial registration number : ACTRN12609000022268 This study was design ed to assess whether a self- study interactive computer program is more effective than weekly seminars for teaching fundamental skills of electrocardiographic interpretation to junior medical students . Forty-two students were assigned to the computer and 41 to the seminar group .  A test was given to each participant at the beginning and end of each rotation . The computer group used a computer-assisted learning program , and the seminar group met weekly with a cardiologist to review electrocardiograms . Attendance at a minimum of 80 % of the seminars or completion of 80 % of the computer-assisted learning program was required for inclusion in the statistical analysis . The mean difference in test scores before and after study was 5.69 for the computer group and 4.36 for the seminar group ( P less than .02 by one-tailed t-test ) . These results indicate that the computer group performed significantly better than the seminar group . We believe this difference to be educationally important A growing body of literature deals with the use of self-instructional methods for teaching biostatistics to medical students . The University of Tennessee Department of Community Medicine tested the hypothesis that , in controlled , r and omized situations , learning of statistical material by self-instruction is equivalent to learning identical material by the lecture method . An analysis of student performance , in terms of the grade s obtained on two separate examinations , showed that students learning by self-instruction did as well or better than their colleagues taking lectures . On the basis of these results , self-instructional biostatistics for medical students at the University of Tennessee has been selected as the major teaching method of that subject BACKGROUND Although educators agree that the approach to cancer management must be multidisciplinary , medical students usually observe cancer patients through the eyes of a single specialist at any given time . METHODS In order to teach third-year medical students that cancer management is multidisciplinary , we developed the Oncology Game , an interactive , computer-assisted board game built on the principles of self-directed learning and student-student interaction . Eight " patients " with different histologic types of cancer are distributed r and omly to 4 students , who play in teams of 2 . The object is for the team to obtain the best treatment for its patients by advancing them via a roll of dice through surgical , medical , and radiation oncology clinics in the order most logical for the patient 's particular cancer type . To test improvement in cognitive skills as a function of play , 16 students participated in a tournament taking parallel pretest and posttests before and after each round of play . RESULTS Students demonstrated a statistically significant change in the total number of questions answered correctly each time they played the Oncology Game ( F = 4.16 , P = 0.018 ; Pretest Round 1 : 8.88 + /- 0.58 ; Posttest Round 1 : 9.63 + /- 0.42 ; Pretest Round 2 : 10.75 + /- 0.62 ; Posttest Round 2 : 11.5 + /- 0.85 ) . Post hoc pairwise comparison revealed a significant improvement in student performance after playing two rounds of the Oncology Game . Based on the postgame survey , students felt they improved their underst and ing of oncologic principles ( 4.56 + /- 0.13 ) , knowledge of malignancies ( 4.50 + /- 0.13 ) , and appreciation for the multidisciplinary nature of cancer management ( 4.56 + /- 0.13 ) . CONCLUSIONS Improved test scores and postgame survey results demonstrate that third-year medical student students can learn about basic oncology principles and gain an appreciation for oncology as a multidisciplinary field of medicine through an interactive , computer-assisted board game BACKGROUND Procedural sedation guidelines were established for a tertiary care pediatric emergency department ( ED ) . We developed a pediatric procedural sedation course to disseminate these guidelines . OBJECTIVE Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of a sedation course in improving physicians ' knowledge of pediatric procedural sedation practice s and guidelines , relative to individual self-directed learning . METHODS We recruited emergency staff physicians and fellows as well as fourth-year pediatric residents in a tertiary care pediatric ED to participate in a r and omized , controlled , educational intervention . All consenting physicians received pediatric sedation educational material for individual study 2 weeks before a learning assessment . Participants were r and omly assigned to one of 2 groups . The self-directed learning group ( n = 24 ) completed a multiple-choice examination without receiving any formal teaching . The study group ( n= 24 ) participated in a 4-hour formal multifaceted sedation course before writing the multiple-choice examination . RESULTS The groups did not differ significantly in demographic characteristics or self-perceived knowledge of pediatric sedation . The formal teaching group 's median examination score ( 83.3 % ; range 75.8%-96.5 % ) was significantly higher ( p < 0.0001 ) than the median examination score of participants in the self-directed study group ( 73.3 % , range 43.5%-86.6 % ) . CONCLUSION The multifaceted sedation course was more effective in improving physician knowledge and underst and ing of sedation guidelines and practice s than unstructured , self-directed learning A study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that self-instructional programs in nutrition and dentistry are as effective a teaching method as traditional lectures . Five programmed self-instructional manuals accompanied by 191 slides were developed and evaluated for effectiveness , as compared to six lectures containing the same information . The study population of 83 freshmen dental students was r and omly assigned to a control ( lecture ) group and an experimental ( self-instruction ) group . Cognitive tests , performance criteria for diet counseling , and an attitudinal question naire  were used to compare the two groups . The results of the analysis demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the test scores in the lecture and self-instruction groups A computer-assisted interactive videodisc instructional program , HP-RHEUM was design ed to teach clinical findings in arthritis to occupational and physical therapy students . Using the Rheumatology Image Library videodisc produced by the National Library of Medicine , HP-RHEUM consists of instructional modules which employ advance organizers , examples/nonexamples , summaries , and immediate feedback . To see if HP-RHEUM would be as effective as traditional classroom instruction , control data were collected in 1991 from 52 OT and PT students . Treatment data were collected from 61 students in 1992 when HP-RHEUM entirely replaced lectures . Identical pre- and post-tests consisted of 70 multiple choice questions , with 24 matched to slides . On the slide questions the HP-RHEUM group had significantly higher scores . Otherwise , there was no significant difference in performance between groups . HP-RHEUM provided an independent learning method and enhanced visual comprehension of rheumatologic disease concepts OBJECTIVES The GMC recommends that students become independent learners , while tutor time is an increasingly precious re source . A set of structured learning material s requiring students to undertake and reflect on practical tasks in five learning areas was developed . DESIGN The study used a r and omized control trial to evaluate the effectiveness of using these structured learning material s in place of conventional teaching for 228 third-year undergraduate students and 55 teachers , on both hospital and community based medical and general practice firms . Evaluation involved assessing student performance on an examination question and a writing task , together with a student and tutor satisfaction question naire . SETTING King 's College School of Medicine and Dentistry , London . SUBJECTS Third-year medical ( first-year clinical ) undergraduates . RESULTS No significant difference in learning outcome was found for  students on community- and hospital-based medical and general practice firms between students who had used the structured material s and those who had had conventional teaching on the same topic . The packs were acceptable to tutors and students . CONCLUSIONS Such re sources represent a mid-point between formal didactic teaching and self-directed learning . They may be particularly suitable for promoting independent learning for students on traditional medical courses . They offer an appropriate way to cover certain topics in the clinical curriculum and help to protect tutor time for topics which can not be effectively taught in other ways This study evaluated 2 methods of disseminating an empirically vali date d smokeless tobacco intervention delivered during routine dent 
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When learners were involved in choosing learning re sources , SDL was more effective .
Advanced learners seemed to benefit more from SDL .
CONCLUSIONS Moderate quality evidence suggests that SDL in health professions education is associated with moderate improvement in the knowledge domain compared with traditional teaching methods and may be as effective in the skills and attitudes domains