See my original review of OnlineMedEd’s free clinical education videos here: Resource Review and the first part of this series, interviewing Jamie & Dustyn about their philosophy.

Why Do Free Clinical Education Videos Work?

In some other Q&As I’ve read that Dustyn gives OnlineMedEd access to students on rotation at his hospital, and that you’ve already seen those students out-perform the prior year’s students on shelf exams. Can you tell us more about that?

OME is more than just a test-prep service; it’s flipping the classroom. Dustyn’s students use it as pre-work, learning the fundamentals on their own. They then come in and do team-based learning cases that [take it to the] next level. The experience gets students performing higher on both the wards and shelf exams, plus it better utilizes Dustyn’s time and expertise.

Of course, there are also those who don’t do well. We’ve been using OME as a remediation tool for those who fail a clerkship shelf exam or Step 2. Early results are promising; Dustyn’s students are averaging over five points higher on the Step 2 than past classes – and no one that’s entered the remediation program has failed once in it.

Anyone can say their methodology improves scores and use anecdotal evidence as proof, but we’re going a step further and quantifying it with multi-site studies centered on the above issues. Quality research takes years, but we recently published editorials on it in the Ochsner Journal. We’re doing this across the country and are always game to expand the research to interested institutions. Jamie’s a clinical epidemiologist and has made the IRB/data collection/analysis aspects a breeze for everyone involved.

What’s the most surprising feedback you’ve received from students using OnlineMedEd’s free clinical education videos?
Specifically, “My PA school made us watch these videos as our lecture.” People are paying a university to tell them to watch our content. Content not even optimized for their training, but effective and adequate none the less. It would have been cool if they told us before the student did…

In general, it’s amazing to see how widespread the education gap is in teaching clinical foundations across the country. Students at prestigious schools regularly reach out and say, “Thank you! We’re not taught anything like this, I wish our university had you as lecturers,” etc. How medical education is delivered is certainly changing, but few are actually focusing on the education itself. “Innovation” in the space seems to be more focused on taking a textbook and cutting it up into flashcards/putting it on an iPad, less [about] doing something actually different.

Have you had any feedback from fourth year medical students, interns or others who discovered OnlineMedEd “late” and found the videos useful?
Since we don’t advertise this is still a substantial number of users. They usually say, “Man last year would have been so much easier had I known, my scores went way up once I did finally use you.”

We try to turn them into advocates and get them spreading the word, which is the only way the project grows. I don’t think it matters when you find OnlineMedEd – you’re going to get rusty on things you don’t see – so there will always be utility. We regularly hear from docs preparing to study for board re-certifications that use this as a starting point to get their baseline refreshed on certain topics.

More About OnlineMedEd’s Free Clinical Education Videos

Be sure to check out their site if you’re a soon-to-be third year who wants to do great on wards and shelf exams, or a fourth year with time before Step 2 / Level 2. And remember, early this summer OnlineMedEd are planning to roll out a new iOS flashcard app to supplement their 100% free clinical education videos!

Disclaimer: FMS gets no cash, prizes or perks for this interview series – I just want you guys to do awesome on exams and on the floor.

Check back next week for part three of our chat!

Resources/Links

• Dr. Williams Editorial in the Ochsner Journal
• OME Dashboard – https://onlinemeded.org/dashboard
• Test drive the notes, audio and clinical case with the free CAD video
• Compare OME versus other paid board prep services – https://onlinemeded.org/compare