Impact of immediate feedback on the learning of medical students in pharmacology

Introduction: Providing feedback to students is an essentialcomponent in medical education and has been shown to improvethe students’ learning. The purpose of this study is to evaluatethe effect of computer-based immediate feedback on the medicalstudents’ learning in a pharmacology course.Methods: In this prospective intervention study some feedbackmodules in pharmacology (FMP) were prepared in two topics:the cardiovascular system (CVS) and chemotherapy, using blanktemplates on “Hot Potatoes” software. The FMP included MCbasedquestions and two versions were developed: one withfeedback (FMP-1) and the other without feedback (FMP-2). TheFMP-1 module provided immediate feedback for each option thestudent chose. The students (n=48) were randomized by computergenerated random number table to two groups A and B to receivethe module in CVS, i.e., FMP-1 and FMP-2, respectively. A crossoverdesign was adopted to expose all students to immediatefeedback modules. The test scores were compared and feedbackwas obtained from students and faculty using a validatedquestionnaire. A focus group discussion was conducted to clarifythe issues raised by the students.Results: The module with immediate feedback was much betterappreciated by the students than the module without feedback.The students spent more time on FMP-1 (42±7.00 minutes vs27±12.36 minutes; p