Abstract

Purpose Technology-mediated learning is changing the way skills are learned, allowing mass training. However, when the trainers are also clinical experts with limited teaching time it can be challenging. The literature supports that non-experts can be trained to become effective trainers, achieving comparable results to expert instructors. This study investigates this potential comparing students and specialty residents in teaching undergraduate students performing basic surgical interventions such as thoracentesis and paracentesis. Methods In this quasi-experimental design study, all participants completed a Train the Trainers (TTT) course, to acquire skills for teaching basic medical procedures (thoracentesis/paracentesis) to third-year medical students through simulation. Trainers were divided into Medical Students as Trainers (MST) or Medical Residents as Trainers (MRT). Students only watched a tutorial before recording their simulated procedures. These recordings were uploaded to a platform for receiving the trainer's feedback. To assess performance, global-rating-scale (GRS) scores with a maximum of 25 points, from the initial and final assessments were compared. Results were analyzed using non-parametric tests. Results A total of 618 videos were analyzed. In the MST group, the odds of passing after feedback was 2.443 (CI 1.054-6.43), while in the MRT group, the odds were 1.55 (CI 0.565-4.581). On the GRS, MST significantly improved 4.2 points (p < 0.001) from an initial of 18, while MRT improved by 3.1 points (p < 0.001) from 20. No statistically significant differences were found when comparing both groups (p value = 0.13). Conclusions The study highlights the potential of medical students as effective instructors in technical skill training, exhibiting comparable outcomes to resident trainers. However, nuances in teaching efficacy, impacted by the inherent differences between student and resident trainers, emphasize the need for further research in this area.