Impact of Podcasting on First-Year Medical Student Note- Writing Skills

This project assessed the effectiveness of podcasting, a new tool for content delivery in medical education, to improve first-year students ’ note-writing and patient documentation skills and knowledge. Previous Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) revealed that many first-year students had poor note-writing skills. Therefore, a new series of six podcast episodes that taught note-writing skills, titled “SOAP Note 101, ” was developed and made available on the iTunes Music Store and the institutional website. Phase I involved three groups of students, those using institutional iPods, those using their own iPods, and those without any specific commitment to access the podcasts. Subject note writing skills during a non-graded portion of an OSCE were compared for each group. Phase II used a dose-response model to assess the degree of improvement in note writing on a graded OSCE and a cognitive exam, based on the number of podcasts to which students listened. Students favorably evaluated the podcasts and their availability as supplemental content. Note-writing skills and quiz scores increased slightly as the number of podcasts that students listened to also increased. Podcasting is well-liked by medical students, and they appreciate having access to asynchronous supplemental materials. Further research is needed to evaluate ways to increase effectiveness of podcasting in medical education