The purpose of the study was to determine whether low-high fidelity medical simulation improves learning and long-lasting retention of pharmacology knowledge, compared to lecture alone, in undergraduate medical students. Ninety students, before a 45-minute lecture, were randomized into three groups - sham (S), low (LF), and high fidelity (HF) simulation - to participate in an interactive simulation session. To evaluate immediate and long-lasting retention, a 20-item structured questionnaire on inotropic agents was administered to 90 students before and after a 45-minute lecture, after simulation, and 3 months later. In all groups, the rate of correct answers increased after lecture, while no difference was observed between different groups (P = 0.543). After simulation, students in the HF group provided more correct answers compared to S or LF group (P > 0.001). After 3 months, a significant decrease in the number of correct answers was observed in S (P < 0.001) and LF (P < 0.001) groups, but not in the HF group (P = 0.066). Moreover, HF simulation resulted in an increased number of correct answers compared to the LF (P < 0.001) or S simulation (P < 0.001). These data suggest that advanced medical simulation teaching applied to pharmacology is associated with more effective learning and long-lasting retention compared to lecture alone.
Keywords: clinical skills; medical education research; pharmacology; simulation.