Although history taking is the most common medical procedure performed by doctors, research has shown a deficit in this essential skill among medical students, interns, and, more worryingly, general practitioners. Since the time of Hippocrates, clinical history taking has remained a cornerstone of medicine. A priori hypotheses were formulated before data collection. A total of 3 levels of Kirkpatrick training evaluation model were examined using validated questionnaires: affective (perception and satisfaction), cognitive (knowledge gains and cognitive load), and behavioral attitudes (Objective Structured Clinical Exam) as well as qualitative assessment. Each group completed its intervention in 40 min.
Using an iterative design process for over a year, with input from a variety of clinical disciplines, a cardiac history-taking game and PDF file were designed and informed by Cognitive Load Theory. A total of 24 students in the game group and 14 students in the PDF group completed follow-up 7 weeks later.
In total, 1 participant left the PDF group after allocation was revealed and was excluded. Participants were assigned to either a PDF group (n=19) or a game group (n=27). From an initial sample of 83, a total of 46 medical students were recruited. Assessors involved in the study were blinded to group allocation. In 2015, a longitudinal mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) pilot study was conducted over multiple sampling time points (10 weeks) on a group of undergraduate medical students at The University of Auckland Medical School, New Zealand.