Table 1.
Group characteristics of different participating groups; age (mean, SD), sex (f/m), education in medical profession, completed medical clerkships, digit span forward and backward, and self-efficacy rating prior to skills training (five items using Likert scale ratings; 6= completely agree; 1= completely disagree); results of Mann–Whitney U test and chi-square tests
| Characteristics | Step-1 group (n=20) | Step-2 group (n=20) | Step-3 group (n=29) | Step-3mod group (n=28) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 23.0±2.5 | 23.0±3.0 | 22.7±1.8 | 22.6±2.5 | ns* |
| Sex (f/m) | 12/8 | 12/8 | 17/12 | 16/12 | ns# |
| Education in medical professiona | 6/20 | 7/20 | 3/29 | 10/28 | ns# |
| Completed medical clerkshipsb | 1/20 | 3/20 | 2/29 | 4/28 | ns# |
| Digit span forward (WMS-R) | 8.4±1.6 | 9.9±1.3 | 8.9±1.7 | 9.6±1.7 | ns* |
| Digit span backward (WMS-R) | 8.5±2.0 | 8.6±1.8 | 8.2±1.8 | 9.2±2.0 | ns* |
| Self-efficacy rating prior to skills session (6–1) | 1.05±0.6 | 1.29±0.7 | 1.29±0.8 | 1.19±0.7 | ns* |
Notes:
a
Completed education as paramedic, medical secretary, nurse, or occupational therapist;
b
completed clerkships in surgery, internal medicine, anesthesia, or general medicine;
*
ANOVA results;
#
Chi-square test.
Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; WMS-R, revised version of Wechsler Memory Scales; ns, not significant.