Comparing the Effects of Chest Trauma Management Training Webinars on Clinical Decision-Making Skills of Emergency Medical Technicians Through Lectures and Scenario-Based Methods

Abstract

Background: Trauma is a significant issue in public health and emergency care, with decision-making being a critical component of the care system. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of webinar training on chest trauma management using two methods — lecture-based and scenario-based — on the clinical decision-making skills of emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Methods: In this interventional study, 50 EMTs were randomly assigned to two groups: A lecture-based webinar group and a scenario-based webinar group. A researcher-developed pre-test questionnaire was distributed via WhatsApp. Subsequently, a 4-hour webinar training session was conducted using the Adobe Connect platform. Immediately following the training, the questionnaire was redistributed to both groups via WhatsApp. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22, employing Fisher's exact test, independent samples t-test, and paired t-test, with a significance level set at 0.05. Results: The mean score of decision-making skills prior to the intervention did not differ significantly between the lecture and scenario groups (P = 0.76). However, post-intervention, the increase in the mean score of decision-making skills was greater in the scenario-based group (7.44 ± 5.8 points) compared to the lecture group (3.44 ± 3.9 points), with this difference being statistically significant (P = 0.007). Conclusions: The findings suggest that scenario-based training, even in a virtual format, is a more effective method than traditional training approaches. Nonetheless, further studies are recommended to validate these results.