Assessment in medical education from the virtual context: a systematic review

Authors

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/edumed.617691
Keywords: assessment, virtual assessment, virtual learning

Abstract

Assessment is one of the most studied topics by the scientific community due to its complexity and impact on learning. In virtual contexts, assessment has been a focal point of analysis in several higher education studies to understand its implementation with the benefits offered by technologies. While contributions on this topic are applicable to all educational enviroments, assessment can differ based on specific didactic and pedagogical factors, such as in medical education. Consequently, there is a lack of theoretical research determining trends in assessment in medical education in virtual contexts. This research aims to address this theoretical gap through a systematic review. The PRISMA protocol was applied to studies in the Web of Science Core Collection (2018 - May 2023) and a content analysis of scientific literature (n = 46) was conducted. The results showed similarities in evaluative trends in virtual contexts both in higher education and medical education. It is concluded assessments using multimedia resources, online exams, gamification, video conferencing, educational platforms, and flipped learning are evaluative trends in virtual contexts similar to general education studies. However, assessment based on simulations, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality are the most pronounced trends in medical education.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Cabero-Almenara J, Palacios-Rodríguez A. La evaluación de la educación virtual: las e-actividades. RIED Rev Iberoam Educ a Distancia. 2021;24(2):169. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.24.2.28994

Heil J, Ifenthaler D. Online Assessment in Higher Education: A Systematic Review. Online Learn. 2023;27(1):187–218. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i1.3398

Montenegro‐Rueda M, Luque de la Rosa A, Sarasola Sánchez‐Serrano JL, Fernández‐Cerero J. Assessment in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review. Sustainability. 2021;13(19):10509. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU131910509

Karimian Z, Farrokhi MR, Moghadami M, Zarifsanaiey N, Mehrabi M, Khojasteh L, et al. Medical education and COVID-19 pandemic: a crisis management model towards an evolutionary pathway. Educ Inf Technol. 2022;27:3299–3320. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10697-8

Capitán L. Innovaciones en Educación Médica. Un enfoque integral. Innova medica Rev innovación docente la Fac Med Sevilla. 2023;2023(2):23–27. https://revistascientificas.us.es/index.php/innova/article/view/25943

Subbiramaniyan V, Apte C, Mohammed CA. A meme-based approach for enhancing student engagement and learning in renal physiology. Adv Physiol Educ. 2022;46(1):27–29. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00092.2021

Bilgic E, Okrainec A, Valanci S, Di Palma A, Fecso A, Kaneva P, et al. Development of a simulation curriculum to teach and assess advanced laparoscopic suturing skills using telesimulation: a feasibility study. Surg Endosc. 2022;36:5483–5490. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-021-08880-6

Kolikonda MK, Blaginykh E, Brown P, Kovi S, Zhang LQ, Uchino K. Virtual Rounding in Stroke Care and Neurology Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Residency Program Survey. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2022;31(1):106177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2021.106177

Rusingiza E, Alizadeh F, Wolbrink T, Mutamba B, Vinci S, Profita EL, et al. An e-learning pediatric cardiology curriculum for Pediatric Postgraduate trainees in Rwanda: implementation and evaluation. BMC Med Educ. 2022;22(179). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03222-z

Sarkar S, Mishra P, Nayak A. Online open-book examination of undergraduate medical students – a pilot study of a novel assessment method used during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. J Laryngol Otol. 2021;135(4):288–292. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022215121000141

Barteit S, Guzek D, Jahn A, Bärnighausen T, Jorge MM, Neuhann F. Evaluation of e-learning for medical education in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review. Comput Educ. 2020;145:103726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103726

Tudor Car L, Kyaw Myint B, Nannan Panday RS, van der Kleij R, Chavannes N, Majeed A, et al. Digital Health Training Programs for Medical Students: Scoping Review. JMIR Med Educ. 2021;7(3):e28275. https://doi.org/10.2196/28275

Umphrey L, Lenhard N, Lam SK, Hayward NE, Hecht S, Agrawal P, et al. Virtual global health in graduate medical education: a systematic review. Int J Med Educ. 2022;13:230–248. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.62eb.94fa

Urrútia G, Bonfill X. Declaración PRISMA: una propuesta para mejorar la publicación de revisiones sistemáticas y metaanálisis. Med Clin (Barc). 2010;135(11):507–511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medcli.2010.01.015

Lockwood C, Munn Z, Porritt K. Qualitative research synthesis. Int J Evid Based Healthc. 2015;13(3):179–187. https://doi.org/10.1097/XEB.0000000000000062

Odun-Ayo I, Goddy-Worlu R, Yahaya J, Geteloma V. A systematic mapping study of cloud policy languages and programming models. J King Saud Univ - Comput Inf Sci. 2021;33(7):761–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksuci.2019.05.003

Duffy B, Tully R, Stanton A V. An online case-based teaching and assessment program on clinical history-taking skills and reasoning using simulated patients in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Med Educ. 2023;23(4). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03950-2

Liu C, Chan M, Beard V, Mathura P, Dytoc M. Beyond Skin Deep: case-based online modules to teach multidisciplinary care in dermatology among clerkship students. BMC Med Educ. 2023;23(90). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04072-z

Subedi N, Hirachan N, Paudel S, Shrestha B, Pradhan A, Subedee A, et al. The effectiveness of online team-based learning in introduction to medical ethics education for medical students at a medical college of Nepal: a pilot study. BMC Med Educ. 2022;22(766). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03813-w

Prasad N, Fernando S, Willey S, Davey K, Hocking J, Malhotra A, et al. Evaluation of online interprofessional simulation workshops for obstetric and neonatal emergencies. Int J Med Educ. 2022;13:287–304. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.6342.9214

Altinmakas E, Dogru OF, Yucel U, Ayas G, Balcı AS, Duran M, et al. Knowing the ABCs: teaching the principles of radiology to medical students in Turkey. BMC Med Educ. 2022;22(857). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03885-8

Kennedy M, Loftus M, Lafferty T, Hilliard C, Reaper-Reynolds S, O’Donnell C. Reimagining a children’s palliative care educational programme for registered nurses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurse Educ Today. 2022;119:105569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105569

Salman A, Qureshi AS, Umar Z, Riaz M, Usman M, Zulfiqar S, et al. Effects of COVID‐19 pandemic on anatomy education of medical and dental students of Pakistan; a reality check. Surg Radiol Anat. 2022;44(11):1495–1500. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-022-03034-2

Boulos AN. Evaluation of the effectiveness of online education in anatomy for medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ann Anat - Anat Anzeiger. 2022;244:151973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aanat.2022.151973

Hoffman SE, Vega RA, Stippler M. Teaching through the screen: a toolbox for creating a virtual neurosurgical subinternship program. Neurosurg Focus. 2022;53(2):E7. https://doi.org/10.3171/2022.5.FOCUS22171

Xiao J, Adnan S. Flipped anatomy classroom integrating multimodal digital resources shows positive influence upon students’ experience and learning performance. Anat Sci Educ. 2022;15(6):1086–1102. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2207

Ganji J, Shirvani MA, Motahari-Tabari N, Tayebi T. Design, implementation and evaluation of a virtual clinical training protocol for midwifery internship in a gynecology course during COVID-19 pandemic: A semi-experimental study. Nurse Educ Today. 2022;111:105293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105293

Spear LG, Dimperio JA, Wang SS, Do HM, Folio LR. Rethinking Clinical Trial Radiology Workflows and Student Training: Integrated Virtual Student Shadowing Experience, Education, and Evaluation. J Digit Imaging. 2022;35(3):723–731. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10278-022-00605-y

Marchesan Rodrigues MA, Zornoff D, Kobayasi R. Remote Pathology teaching under the COVID-19 pandemic: Medical students’ perceptions. Ann Diagn Pathol. 2022;56:151875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2021.151875

Grünigen S von, Dessane B, Le Pape P, Falaschi L, Geissbühler A, Bonnabry P. Development and Evaluation of an e-Learning Module for Low- and Middle-Income Countries on the Safe Handling of Chemotherapy Drugs. J Cancer Educ. 2023;38:285–291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-021-02113-z

Memon I, Feroz Z, Alkushi A, Qamar N, Ismail F. Switching from face-to-face to an online teaching strategy: how anatomy and physiology teaching transformed post-COVID-19 for a university preprofessional program. Adv Physiol Educ. 2021;45(3):481–485. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00233.2020

Kim TH, Kim JS, Yoon HI, Lee J, Lee JJB, Byun HK, et al. Medical student education through flipped learning and virtual rotations in radiation oncology during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross sectional research. Radiat Oncol. 2021;16(204). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13014-021-01927-x

Pettitt-Schieber B, Kuo M, Steehler A, Dong A, Fakunle O, Manalo T, et al. Implementation and evaluation of eight virtual surgical electives for medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Am J Surg. 2021;222(2):248–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.01.032

Huang LY, McKenty N, Alvarez A, Gober J, Irwin R, Molinares D, et al. Virtually Possible: Medical Student Rehabilitation Rotations During a Pandemic. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2021;100(9):831–836. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHM.0000000000001831

Olmes GL, Zimmermann JSM, Stotz L, Takacs FZ, Hamza A, Radosa MP, et al. Students’ attitudes toward digital learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey conducted following an online course in gynecology and obstetrics. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2021;304(4):957–963. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-021-06131-6

White MJ, Birkness JE, Salimian KJ, Meiss AE, Butcher M, Davis K, et al. Continuing Undergraduate Pathology Medical Education in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Global Pandemic: The Johns Hopkins Virtual Surgical Pathology Clinical Elective. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2021;145(7):814–820. https://doi.org/10.5858/arpa.2020-0652-SA

Bogomolova K, Sam AH, Misky AT, Gupte CM, Strutton PH, Hurkxkens TJ, et al. Development of a Virtual Three-Dimensional Assessment Scenario for Anatomical Education. Anat Sci Educ. 2021;14(3):385–393. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2055

Redinger K, Greene J. Virtual Emergency Medicine Clerkship Curriculum during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development, Application, and Outcomes. West J Emerg Med. 2021;22(3). https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2021.2.48430

Jones SE, Campbell PK, Kimp AJ, Bennell K, Foster NE, Russell T, et al. Evaluation of a Novel e-Learning Program for Physiotherapists to Manage Knee Osteoarthritis via Telehealth: Qualitative Study Nested in the PEAK (Physiotherapy Exercise and Physical Activity for Knee Osteoarthritis) Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2021;23(4):e25872. https://doi.org/10.2196/25872

Sadeesh T, Prabavathy G, Ganapathy A. Evaluation of undergraduate medical students’ preference to human anatomy practical assessment methodology: a comparison between online and traditional methods. Surg Radiol Anat. 2021;43(4):531–535. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02637-x

Al-Ahmari AN, Ajlan AM, Bajunaid K, Alotaibi NM, Al-Habib H, Sabbagh AJ, et al. Perception of Neurosurgery Residents and Attendings on Online Webinars During COVID-19 Pandemic and Implications on Future Education. World Neurosurg. 2021;146:e811–e816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2020.11.015

Alves N, Carrazoni GS, Soares CB, da Rosa AC de S, Soares NM, Mello-Carpes PB. Relating human physiology content to COVID-19: a strategy to keep students in touch with physiology in times of social distance due to pandemic. Adv Physiol Educ. 2021;45(1):129–133. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00214.2020

He M, Tang X, Zhang H, Luo Y, Tang Z, Gao S. Remote clinical training practice in the neurology internship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Med Educ Online. 2021;26(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2021.1899642

Ito A, Watanabe K, Fukuzawa Y, Mitani K, Fujimoto S, Matsuda T, et al. Development of Kampo (traditional Japanese medicine) e-learning program: evaluation of the flipped classroom for medical students. Med Educ Online. 2021;26(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2021.1938504

Ramires Lima K, Souto das Neves B-H, Cadore Ramires C, dos Santos Soares M, Ávila Martini V, Freitas Lopes L, et al. Student assessment of online tools to foster engagement during the COVID-19 quarantine. Adv Physiol Educ. 2020;44(4):679–683. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00131.2020

Ng CKC. Evaluation of academic integrity of online open book assessments implemented in an undergraduate medical radiation science course during COVID-19 pandemic. J Med Imaging Radiat Sci. 2020;51(4):610–616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmir.2020.09.009

Petrica A, Lungeanu D, Ciuta A, Marza AM, Botea M-O, Mederle OA. Using 360-degree video for teaching emergency medicine during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Ann Med. 2021;53(1):1520–1530. https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2021.1970219

Chandrasinghe PC, Siriwardana RC, Kumarage SK, Munasinghe BNL, Weerasuriya A, Tillakaratne S, et al. A novel structure for online surgical undergraduate teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Med Educ. 2020;20(324). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02236-9

Samueli B, Sror N, Jotkowitz A, Taragin B. Remote pathology education during the COVID-19 era: Crisis converted to opportunity. Ann Diagn Pathol. 2020;49:151612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2020.151612

Parker EU, Chang O, Koch L. Remote Anatomic Pathology Medical Student Education in Washington State: An Early COVID-19 Experience. Am J Clin Pathol. 2020;154(5):585–591. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/aqaa154

Sandhu N, Frank J, von Eyben R, Miller J, Obeid J-P, Kastelowitz N, et al. Virtual Radiation Oncology Clerkship During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2020;108(2):444–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.06.050

Wade SWT, Moscova M, Tedla N, Moses DA, Young N, Kyaw M, et al. Adaptive tutorials versus web-based resources in radiology: a mixed methods analysis in junior doctors of efficacy and engagement. BMC Med Educ. 2020;20(303). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02237-8

Gomez E, Azadi J, Magid D. Innovation Born in Isolation: Rapid Transformation of an In-Person Medical Student Radiology Elective to a Remote Learning Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Acad Radiol. 2020;27(9):1285–1290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acra.2020.06.001

Major ME, Ramaekers SPJ, Engelbert RHH, Van der Schaaf M. Preparing undergraduate students for clinical work in a complex environment: evaluation of an e-learning module on physiotherapy in the intensive care unit. BMC Med Educ. 2020;20(130). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02035-2

Donkin R, Askew E, Stevenson H. Video feedback and e-Learning enhances laboratory skills and engagement in medical laboratory science students. BMC Med Educ. 2019;19(310). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1745-1

Felszeghy S, Pasonen-Seppänen S, Koskela A, Nieminen P, Härkönen K, Paldanius KMA, et al. Using online game-based platforms to improve student performance and engagement in histology teaching. BMC Med Educ. 2019;19(273). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1701-0

Moreira IC, Ramos I, Rua Ventura S, Pereira Rodrigues P. Learner’s perception, knowledge and behaviour assessment within a breast imaging E-Learning course for radiographers. Eur J Radiol. 2019;111:47–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2018.12.006

Mitra NK, Barua A. Effect of online formative assessment on summative performance in integrated musculoskeletal system module. BMC Med Educ. 2015;15(29). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-015-0318-1

Published
28-06-2024
How to Cite
Fernández Alemán, M. A., Estrada Molina, O., & Alvarez Sam, D. (2024). Assessment in medical education from the virtual context: a systematic review. Spanish Journal of Medical Education, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.6018/edumed.617691