Blended learning vs traditional learning in obstetrics education: a prospective randomised controlled trial

INTERVENTION: The study involved 171 fourth‐year medical students from the Hospital of the Santa Creu i Sant Pau teaching unit of the UAB in Barcelona enrolled in first‐semester obstetrics during the 2015‐2016 and 2016‐2017 academic years. A teacher checked the students for eligibility and these were then randomly allocated to the study or control group using a list generated by a syntax program (IBMP SPP) in such a way that it was unpredictable but reproducible. It was a blocked randomization procedure to ensure close balance of the numbers in each group. In this way, 64 students followed the BL model for the course, which in turn was divided into smaller groups (3 groups per year composed of 10 and 14 students each) and 67 students followed the traditional model (TL). The team of teachers was blinded to the group assignment. CONDITION: Pedagogical methodology for the acquisition of obstetrics competencies ; Not Applicable PRIMARY OUTCOME: Short, medium and long‐term effectiveness of a pedagogical methodology based on the combination of blended learning (BL) and flipped learning (FL), and traditional learning (TL) expressed from the academic results of tests. The three tests were made for the study. The 6‐item test was taken immediately the participants finished the class attendance. A 50‐item test was taken 1 month after the end of the instruction, and another 50‐item test was taken 6 months after the intervention. SECONDARY OUTCOME: ; Assessed two years after recruitment:; 1. Students satisfaction with the pedagogical methodology BL and TL measured using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM).; 2. Student satisfaction with Blended Model's education tools measured using an analogous numeral scale (0‐10) to evaluate each education tool.; ; INCLUSION CRITERIA: Medical students from the Hospital of the Santa Creu i Sant Pau teaching unit of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, enrolled in first semester obstetrics during the 2015‐2016 and 2016‐2017 academic years.