Assessing the feasibility and outcomes of asynchronous and synchronous learning in nuclear medicine for medical students

Introduction: Although both asynchronous and synchronous online learning have gained significant popularity in medical education, there have only been a few studies comparing the effectiveness of these two modalities.Methods: We compared the exam scores, the proportions of students who scored below the minimal passing levels, and the satisfaction levels of medical students who attended asynchronous online nuclear medicine courses to those who attended synchronous ones.Results: The asynchronous and the synchronous classes were attended by ۲۴۱ and ۲۶۸ students, respectively. The median score of the asynchronous class (Median=۱۶, IQR=۳) was not significantly different (p=۰.۸۵۹) from that of the synchronous class (Median=۱۵, IQR=۳). the percentage of students who scored below the minimum passing level in the asynchronous class (۵.۶۰%) was significantly higher (p=۰.۰۳۳) than that of the synchronous class (۱.۶۶%). Only ۵۵ students from the asynchronous class (۲۲.۸%), and ۱۲ students from the synchronous class (۴.۴۸%) returned the satisfaction questionnaires. From the available responses, we did not find significant difference between the satisfaction levels of the two classes. Conclusion: We found no significant difference in exam scores and satisfaction levels between asynchronous and synchronous online nuclear medicine courses for medical students. However, the asynchronous class had a higher proportion of students scoring below passing levels, which could imply caution needed when implementing online asynchronous teaching methods.

Keywords:

Medical education , Nuclear medicine , Online learning , Synchronous , Asynchronous