An ultrashort video can teach residents to perform a fingertip injury repair

Background Acute fingertip injuries are common. Providers in rural and underserved areas often transfer these patients due to lack of comfort and skill with treating these injuries. Current learners prefer short and high‐density educational material. It is unknown if basic hand procedures can be taught using ultrashort training videos. This study investigates whether fingertip repair can be taught using a 60‐second educational video viewed immediately prior to performing the procedure. Methods A standardized cadaveric fingertip injury model was developed. Twenty‐three emergency medicine residents each having minimal experience with fingertip injury repair were randomized into one of three study arms: A) no video, B) standard‐length (8‐minute) video, and C) ultrashort (60‐second) video. Each subject was presented with an injured cadaveric finger and asked to prepare for and perform the repair within a 30‐minute time frame. The repair was graded on a 10‐point scale following a standard rubric. Time to completion, preparedness, and subjects’ confidence were also assessed. Results were analyzed by one‐way ANOVA and Kruskal‐Wallis tests. Results Mean repair scores for the standard‐length video group (9.5 ± 0.3) and the ultrashort video group (9.2 ± 0.3) were significantly higher than those of the no video group (4.0 ± 0.3, p