Text4Peds: Short Message Service Evaluating Medical Student Education

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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In this study, third year medical students on the pediatric clerkship will be randomized to receive either only written educational material (review journal articles) or written educational material plus daily text messages consisting of board style questions with online answers. The students' performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Pediatric Subject Evaluation will be compared between the two groups.

Detailed Description
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In the last decade, the use of smartphone and text messaging (SMS) has increased significantly; during this time, text messaging has become the primary means of communication in some instances. Despite the popularity, text messaging and smartphones have been rarely utilized in the context of medical education. Few studies have been performed examining the effect of text messaging as an adjunct to traditional medical education. A previous study with the Saint Louis University (SLU) Pediatric Residency program, showed the feasibility of using text messaging to deliver medical information to pediatric residents through the Text4Peds program. This study aims to expand Text4Peds to third NBME Pediatric Subject Evaluation performance. The NBME Pediatric Subject Evaluation is a national, standardized pediatric knowledge based exam from the NBME taken by all medical students at the end of their pediatric clerkship.

Official Title
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Text4Peds: Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating Medical Student Education

Conditions
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Education, Medical, Undergraduate, SMS

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Texting Group
* Other: Non Texting Group


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Third year medical students on the Pediatric Clerkship at Saint Louis University School of Medicine Exclusion Criteria: Third year medical students who did not have a mobile phone capable of receiving a short message service (SMS) text message

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 20 Years
Maximum Age: 50 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Participants were randomly assigned to a Texting Group or a Non-Texting Group using a random number generator. The texting group received a daily text message containing a board style multiple choice question. If the participant wanted immediate feedback, the message contained a link to a website containing the answer to the question along with an explanation, the source material, and a more complete clinical vignette. One hour after the initial text message was sent, a follow up answer text message was delivered. Text messages were sent 6 days per week (Monday through Saturday) at 2pm and 3pm. To minimize perceived impropriety, the non-texting group received access to the journal articles from which the content was derived, but did not receive any text messages or any of the synthesized material. The primary outcome was performance on the NBME Pediatric Subject Examination.
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Texting Group<br>The texting group received a daily text message containing a board style multiple choice question. If the participant wanted immediate feedback, the message contained a link to a website containing the answer to the question along with an explanation, the source material, and a more complete clinical vignette. One hour after the initial text message was sent, a follow up answer text message was delivered. Text messages were sent 6 days per week (Monday through Saturday) at 2 pm and 3 pm. | Other: Texting Group<br>* See above in arm/group description<br>|
| Active Comparator: Non Texting Group<br>The non-texting group received access to the journal articles from which the text message content was derived, but did not receive any text messages or any of the online material or question stems. | Other: Non Texting Group<br>* See above in arm/group description<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| National Board of Medical Examiners Pediatric Subject Examination | The NBME pediatrics subject examination is used to assess medical student knowledge and is a common component of the pediatric clerkship grade. It is also used to compare medical student performance to a national benchmark. NBME scores are on a scale of 0-100 (% correct); mean score for this exam during year of evaluation was 75.7 (SD 8.7). | Assessed at end of intervention (after 8 weeks) |