Context: Instructional videos for osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) are a potentially valuable resource for novice learners.

Objective: To evaluate student experiences and the effectiveness of instructional videos in lieu of live faculty demonstration in a second-year osteopathic manipulative medicine course.

Methods: Faculty created and produced written instructions and videos for selected Still and facilitated positional release techniques. These materials incorporated curricular design principles and psychomotor skills development strategies. During a second-year OMT skills laboratory session, students used the videos as the primary source for technique demonstration and instruction. Table trainers monitored and assisted students per their request or if errors were observed. Students completed surveys regarding their previous experiences in the OMT skills laboratory sessions (presession survey) and the video-based instructional one (postsession survey). One month after the survey, students were also asked to complete a postexamination survey. Student scores on the skills competency examination were compared with scores from the previous year.

Results: Of the 230 students, 162 (70%), 135 (59%), and 86 (37%) responded to the presession, postsession, and postexamination surveys, respectively. The majority of students indicated that the OMT videos helped them feel more prepared (98%) and more confident for their examination (78%), were a valuable addition to learning (97%), and would help increase confidence in using osteopathic manipulative medicine on patients (84%). Two-thirds of students indicated that the videos were superior to faculty demonstration from the stage. Compared with students from the previous year, no statistically significant improvement was noted on the total clinical competency examination scores.

Conclusion: The faculty-created videos for teaching OMT techniques did not improve scores on the clinical competency examination but had subjective benefits as part of the OMT laboratory sessions. Instructional videos can serve as an alternative to live demonstration to allow more time in the laboratory for assessment and feedback.