Effectiveness of Using the Intelligent Two-dimensional Barcode in Clinical Education on Emergency and Internal Medicine Residents of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Recent developments in technology have shifted the main focus of medical education to more active learning approaches. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using the intelligent two-dimensional barcode on the clinical education of emergency and internal medicine residents at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

In the present quasi-experimental study, a total of 68 emergency and internal medicine residents of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences participated, who were present in the Emergency Ward of Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups of intervention (using barcodes) and control (using conventional methods). The participants were asked to complete a demographic form and educational questions at the beginning and end of the research. Finally, the results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests.

The findings of pretest-posttests showed that the mean scores changed from 75.5±15.09 to 92±6.07 (p < 0.01) and from 68±14.36 to 77±13.23 (P=0.022) in the intervention and control groups, respectively, which was significant in both groups. The mean differences of the pretest-posttest scores were obtained at 16 and 1.6 in the intervention and control groups, respectively. The comparison of the post-test results showed a significant relationship (P=0.001).

The results of the present study showed that the use of intelligent two-dimensional barcode increased the scores of residents. Therefore, it seems that this method was effective in educating students.