• Hong-Jie Jhou, Liang-Jun Ou-Yang, Ming-Hsun Lin, Po-Huang Chen, Ching-Liang Ho, and Cho-Hao Lee.
• Department of Neurology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
• Postgrad Med J. 2022 Aug 1; 98 (1162): 604-609.

BackgroundThis network meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy of different educational methods for healthcare professionals.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted to identify relevant randomised controlled trials. The standardised mean difference (SMD) with 95% CI was estimated using network meta-analysis for knowledge acquisition and skill performance, and ranked the effects of different educational methods using the surface under the cumulative ranking area (SCURA) technique.ResultsFifty-five randomised controlled trials including of 4292 participants were identified. Compared with no intervention, the results demonstrated all education methods achieved significant improvements in knowledge acquisition (SMD 1.73-2.66). Only education methods involving high fidelity virtual patient simulation reported significantly better skill performance (SMD 1.25-1.81). High fidelity virtual patient simulation plus self-directed learning was the most effective educational method both in terms of knowledge acquisition (SMD 2.66, 95% CI 1.4 to 4.12, SCURA 0.78) and skill performance (SMD 1.81, 95% CI 0.42 to 3.2, SCURA 0.89).ConclusionsOur study demonstrates all educational methods have positive effects on knowledge acquisition, but education methods involving high fidelity virtual patient simulation are better at improving skill performance than other methods.© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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