Objective: Flipped classroom teaching is a nontraditional education model where instructional content is delivered outside the classroom. This constructivist approach emphasizes self-direction, active inquiry; the instructor’s role is to foster critical reflection and facilitate the application and understanding of concepts. Our objective was to study the difference in time taken and quality of patch graft angioplasty performed by residents with and without flipped teaching.
Methods: The study was set in a skills simulation teaching session overseen by attending surgeons. The intervention consisted of introducing a video outlining the technical aspects of patch graft angioplasty, watched before the session. The first group (2018 postgraduate year [PGY] 1 and 2 residents) was given instructions at the time of the class without a prior educational video or resources (Figs 1 and 2). The second group (2019, 2020 PGY 1 and 2 residents) was asked to watch a 20-minute video on the technical aspects of the procedure before the class. Participants then performed a standardized patch graft closure of a 1 cm arteriotomy using a polytetrafluoroethylene patch. The groups were timed. The quality of the closure was tested by assessing the number of leaks and the quantity of leak of the patch (Fig 3). Bivariate analysis sample t-tests were used for statistical analysis. P value \u3c.05 was considered significant. Pre- and post-session surveys were conducted to assess residents’ experience.
Results: Forty-two residents (PGY 1 and 2) were enrolled in the study, 15 in nonintervention group 1 and 27 in intervention group 2, compared with 7 staff vascular surgeons. The mean completion time was 26 minutes (group 1) vs 27 minutes (group 2), P ¼ .6. The staff completion time was 12 minutes, P ¼ .001. The number of major leaks (not needle holes) was 2.0 (group 1) vs 1.6 (group 2), P ¼ .007, none for staff. The total quantity of leak was 42 mL (group 1) vs 15 mL (group 2), P ¼ .0001 (Table I). There was perceived improvement in skill on analyzing pre- and post-session surveys (Table II).
Conclusions: A structured educational intervention, watching a video of a procedure before the skills session, did not change the time needed to complete the skill. There was improvement in the technical outcome of the procedure defined by a decrease in the total quantity of leak. Reversed classroom teaching significantly improves resident’s skill, not speed. There was also a perceived improvement in skill by participants. This is a pilot study and further instructional outcomes are being studied
