A comparative study of medical student performance and satisfaction in an in-person vs online chronic pain certificate program

Abstract

Aim : This study aimed to compare student success rates between the in-person and hybrid learning phases of the chronic Pain Certificate (CPC) at the Faculty of Medicine of Tunis (FMT), and to assess student satisfaction with the hybrid model. Additionally, we evaluated the effects of platform modifications on students’ satisfaction.

Method:  A retrospective analysis was conducted over five years (2018–2024) involving medical students enrolled in the CPC. Success and failure rates were compared between the in-person phase (2018–2020) and the hybrid phase (2020–2024). Student satisfaction was assessed through surveys.

Results:  Among the 301 students included, 115 (38.2%) participated in the in-person phase, and 186 (61.8%) in the hybrid phase. The overall success rate was 81.39%. The success rate in the hybrid phase (84.4%) was higher than in the in-person phase (76.5%), though the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.08). Among 70 students who completed the satisfaction survey, self-rated knowledge on chronic pain increased significantly after the course (p=0.013). Satisfaction with the platform improved post-modification in several aspects, including interest in modules 1, 2, 3, and 5 (p=0.036, p=0.047, p=0.004, p=0.025, respectively), resource usefulness in modules 1, 3, 4, and 5 (p=0.004, p=0.002, p=0.012, p=0.018, respectively), and clarity of Module 3 resources (p=0.05). The estimated average preparation time decreased from 96.2 hours to 87.1 hours post-modification, though this change was not statistically significant (p=0.6).

Conclusion: The integration of an online platform into the CPC at FMT was associated with improved student success rates and satisfaction.