Introduction of New Blood Pressure Guidelines with Pre‐recorded Simulated Scenes during TBL
Authors: Hernandez Mark J. , Parker Robert Wayne , Thompson Joshua , Ferguson James Corbin , Reeves Rachel , Menzies Shane , Giannini John 
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) released new Hypertension guidelines in November 2017 that that are different from the 2014 JNC guidelines. Hypertension is now defined as any systolic blood pressure (BP) measurement of 130 mm Hg or higher or any diastolic BP measurement of 80 mm Hg or higher. We filmed clinical scenes for the capstone Team‐Based Learning (TBL) session for second‐year medical students to help them understand, apply, and compare the new hypertension guidelines. This method was inspired by an exercise known as Patient‐Oriented Problem Solving (POPS) in Pharmacology.

Methods

Clinical and basic science faculty developed hypothetical clinical scenes in which a physician and patient discuss changes in the patient's BP. The faculty guided medical student fellows in filming the scenes. These scenes were then presented during the application portion of the capstone TBL session delivered at the completion of the third semester renal system course. In an effort to facilitate group‐based activities, a platform using TopHat's Group Work feature was used. This platform allowed for an assigned student from each group to respond to the questions that were presented at the end of each scene. However, students were also encouraged to respond individually. For example, some questions required submission of a numerical response, including BMI and creatinine clearance using the Cockcroft‐Gault equation. The scenes were presented to encourage students to discuss the questions openly in their groups. A Likert scale was used to determine student satisfaction with this method of instruction. Learning was assessed through individual responses to the questions during the session and by an examination one week after the session.

Results

The collective student response suggests that the pre‐recorded clinical scenes, inspired by POPS, were relevant to the discussions provoked during the TBL. Individual student responses indicate that the majority of the students participated. It was unclear if the use of pre‐recorded scenes helped solidify the knowledge of the concepts being presented compared to a written vignette.

Conclusion

With the release of new ACC/AHA hypertension guidelines, it can be difficult for students to determine the most appropriate clinical course of action to take and which set of guidelines to follow. To address this problem, we presented students with simulated scenes of a typical hypertensive patient to foster a discussion on the appropriate steps indicated by both the new and old guidelines. This discussion allowed students to recognize the differences between the guidelines and how to use them in the treatment of patients.

Support or Funding Information

Supported by The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, a division of the Southeast Alabama Medical Center.

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.