In-person Versus Online Debriefing in the Simulation Sessions of the Helping Babies Breathe Course: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Online learning has become an integral part of education, especially during the ongoing COVID19 pandemic that has imposed a limit on live interactions. This observation holds true in the medical education system which uses the flipped classroom model to teach essential practical skills. Studies have shown that this model is associated with improved learning and student satisfaction. In such a model, debriefing and feedback comprise a main part of the teaching process, and these interactions are usually conducted in person. One helpful skill offered to nursing and medical students is Helping Babies Breathe (HBB), which is an evidence-based educational program training first-line birth attendants to initiate effective resuscitation of a newborn in the first minute of life. The investigators propose to incorporate online feedback as part of the HBB course at the American University of Beirut. In this non-inferiority randomized controlled trial, the investigators will study the effectiveness of online formative feedback and debriefing on nursing and medical students enrolled in the HBB course in comparison to traditional face-to-face feedback. The working hypothesis is that internet-based live feedback and debriefing are as effective as face-to-face interactions when teaching clinical skills to nursing and medical students. This work will aid in developing a reliable online curriculum that can be extrapolated to other courses and institutions, thus broadening the reach of medical education in the times of physical distancing.