Effects of a Virtual Classroom in social media platform on the Knowledge of Emergency Department Interns: A Randomized Interventional Trial

Background: Emergency medicine has always been a leader in taming new technologies for medical education. Many forms of social media have been reported in medical education with very little quality evidence to clarify their role. In this study we look at a popular multimedia messaging application in our setting and the aim was to evaluate the effects of a virtual classroom in social media platform on the knowledge of emergency department interns.  Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial carried out on 65 interns divided into lecture (n=31) or virtual classroom (n=34) groups during their emergency medicine rotation. A block randomization method was used. Ten blocks of emergency medicine interns were randomly assigned to either a traditional lecture course on the subject of shock, or a virtual classroom conducted in the Telegram Messenger© via a group chat. Students’ knowledge of the topic was assessed before and after the courses using a pretest and a posttest. The group participating in the virtual classroom were also asked to fill a questionnaire regarding their rate of satisfaction with the method. The results were analyzed using independent and paired t-tests in SPSS software version 21. Results: The groups were found to be homogenous prior to the course in all demographic variables and their pretest scores. Most students participating in the virtual classroom preferred this method (81.5%) but the majority found it not to be effective in motivating clinical enthusiasm, solidifying knowledge, or exposing their shortcomings (59.3%). The pretest and posttest revealed that both groups’ knowledge had improved (P<0.001) before and after teaching regardless of the method used. But there was no significant difference in posttest scores between the two methods (P=0.788). Conclusion: A virtual classroom in a social media messaging platform appears to be as effective as a traditional classroom in conveying knowledge, and it is more preferable for the interns.