Hybrid Simulation in Teaching Clinical Breast Examination

Breast cancer is a Lebanese national problem. Campaigns for mammography screening are effective but recommendations on breast examinations screening for breast tumors are lacking. On one hand, the Lebanese population is culturally diverse, with women's beliefs ranging from liberal to extremely conservative. On the other hand, Clinical Breast Examination (CBE) is traditionally taught to medicine III students in a lecture, followed by practice on a low-fidelity breast model. The opportunity to clinically practice CBE depends on patient availability and her willingness to be examined by students. This is further limited by some Lebanese women's cultural and religious beliefs. Little is known about the effect of patient cultural practices on the efficacy of CBE. In this project, we focus on the need for an effective educational tool for teaching CBE to physicians-in-training. The proposed teaching method in this study is hybrid simulation: breast model jacket (simulator) worn by a trained actress (standardized patient, SP). In this study, we compare this standardized educational tool to the traditional teaching method which consists of a lecture and training on a low-fidelity (unrealistic) breast model on a desk (no SP). We hypothesize that the use of this hybrid simulation tool, as compared to the traditional teaching method, will result in a more complete CBE, better lesion detection and improved culturally sensitive communication skills in terms of awareness of, and ability to deal with, cultural differences related to breast examination. In order to do so, we will evaluate medical students' performance and examine their attitudes and cultural competencies when they perform CBEs on 3 culturally different standardized patients using hybrid simulation scenarios. Through an experimental design that minimizes biases related to selection of students (randomized controlled), we will compare hybrid simulation (intervention) with low-fidelity simulation (control) in teaching CBE. Medicine-III students rotating in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) will be asked to participate; they are free to refuse without any effect on their grades in the rotation. The students will be assessed in an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) setting similar to their usual oral clinical exams but not contributory to their academic evaluation in the Faculty of Medicine. The OSCE setting will include encounters with 3 culturally different Standardized Patients (1 "outgoing" woman, 1 with "chador", and 1 moderately conservative woman). The assessment tools are questionnaires that are either objective (filled by SP) or self-reporting (filled by students) about (1) met learning objectives, (2) student's attitude, and (3) clinical cultural competency.