Peers Empowering Peers: Boosting Medical Student Learning
Keywords:
PAL, TLM, MCQ, Phase I MBBS, QuestionnaireAbstract
Background: Peer-assisted learning (PAL) involves students from the same program, often at similar levels, mutually supporting each other's education. This method eases the transition into medical training for novices by engaging near-peers who recently navigated similar challenges, fostering deeper content mastery and richer learning experiences.
Aim and Objectives: i. Enhance comprehension of course material, confidence, and effective learning habits.ii. Cultivate skills in organization, planning, and collaborative teamwork.iii. Produce competent medical graduates equipped for practice.
Methodology: Conducted in the Department of Physiology at Gauhati Medical College, Guwahati, amongst Phase I MBBS students, the project began with faculty sensitization followed by institutional ethical clearance. Students received project orientation and structured, faculty-validated questionnaires were developed for participants and observers. Informed consent was secured. Peer tutors and listeners were paired from Phase I cohorts. Sessions integrated into Physiology practicals, delivering identical competencies (e.g., PY 10.11: Examination of IIIrd–VIth cranial nerves) to all groups. Pre- and post-intervention assessments used MCQs and OSPE for quantitative metrics, supplemented by qualitative feedback questionnaires.
Findings: Out of 200 students, 198 engaged fully. Both peer tutors and listeners showed marked post-test gains, with mean assessment scores reflecting significant academic uplift post-PAL (p<0.05). Most students (85%+) reported satisfaction and eagerness for future sessions. Faculty echoed this, deeming PAL feasible, effective, and worthy of expansion across Physiology and other departments.
Conclusions: PAL boosts learning outcomes, academic performance, and communication—key for Indian Medical Graduates (IMGs). Students and faculty endorse it as a valuable teaching-learning method (TLM)
Downloads
References
[1] Hernández-Torrano D, Ali S, Chan CK. First year medical students’ learning style preferences and their correlation with performance in different subjects within the medical course. BMC Med Educ 2017; 17:131.
[2] Medical Council of India. Regulations on Graduate Medical Education 2012. Medical Council of India, New Delhi, India, 2012. Available via http://www. mciindia.org/tools/announcement/Revised_ GME_2012.pdf (Accessed 29 May 2018)
[3] Determining the effectiveness of peer assisted learning in medical education: A systematic review and meta analysis. Salman Y.Guraya. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences. Volume 15, Issue 3, June 2020, Pages 177-184).
[4] PAL: skill lab tutors’ experiences and motivation.TJ Bugaj 2019 bmcmedceduc.biomedcentral.com (Article number: 353 of 2019)
[5] Introduction and evaluation of peer assisted learning in first year undergraduate Bioscience. Vicki N Tariqu. Bioscience Education, published online Dec 2015.
[6] Goldschmid B. Goldschmid MI. Molecular instruction in higher education: a review. Higher Educ 1973; 2:15-32
[7] Abedini M, Mortazavi F, Javadinia SAMoonaghi HK. A new teaching approach in basic sciences: peer assisted learning. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2013;83 :39-43. Doi 10.1016/jsbspro 2013.06.008.
[8] Bulte C, Betts A, Garner K, Durning S. Student teaching: views of student near-peer teachers and learners. Med Teach. 2007; 29: 583-90
[9] Weidner TG, Popp JK. Peer-Assisted Learning and orthopedic evaluation psychomotor skills. J Athl Train. 2007; 42(1): 113–9
[10] Hudson NJ, Tonkin AL. Clinical skills education: outcomes of relationships between junior medical students, senior peers and simulated patients. Med Educ 2008; 42(9):901-8.
[11] Dandavino M, Snell L, Wiseman J. Why medical students should learn how to teach. Med Teach. 2007;29(6):558–65
[12] Santee J, Garavalia L. Peer tutoring programs in health professions schools. Am J Pharm Educ. 2006;70(3):
[13] Sobral DT. Cross-year peer tutoring experience in a medical school: conditions and outcomes for student tutors. Med Educ. 2002;36(11):1064–70.
[14] Soriano RP, Blatt B, Coplit L, CichoskiKelly E, Kosowicz L, Newman L, Pasquale SJ, Pretorius R, Rosen JM, Saks NS. Teaching medical students how to teach: a national survey of students-as-teachers programs in US medical schools. Acad Med. 2010;85(11):
[15] Yu T-C, Wilson NC, Singh PP, Lemanu DP, Hawken SJ, Hill AG. Medical students-as-teachers: a systematic review of peer-assisted teaching during medical school. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2011; 2:157.
[16] Secomb J. A systematic review of peer teaching and learning in clinical education. J Clin Nurs. 2008;17(6):703–16
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
