Electroconvulsive Therapy: a Video-Based Educational Resource Using Standardized Patients

Objective Video-based depictions of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be useful for educational purposes, but many of the readily available resources may worsen already stigmatized views of the procedure. Educators' common reliance on such material highlights the paucity of equipoised depictions of modern ECT well suited for the training of health professionals. The authors developed and tested a new educational module enhanced by videotaped depictions of a simulated patient undergoing the consent, treatment, recovery, and follow-up phases of ECT. Methods The didactic intervention interspersed 7 short video clips (totaling 14 min) into a 55-min lecture on treatment-resistant depression. The session, part of an intensive course of preclinical psychiatry, was delivered online through synchronous videoconferencing with Zoom. The primary outcome measure was change in theQuestionnaire on Attitudes and Knowledge of ECT(QuAKE). Results Fifty-three out of 63 (87%) eligible second-year medical students completed assessments at baseline and after exposure to the didactic intervention. QuAKE scores improved between baseline and endpoint: the Attitudes composite increased from 49.4 +/- 6.1 to 59.1 +/- 5.7 (pairedt10.65,p <0.001, Cohen'sd0.69), and the Knowledge composite from 13.3 +/- 1.2 to 13.9 +/- 0.8 (pairedt3.97,p