To understand undergraduate clinical medicine students' satisfaction with current electrocardiogram (ECG) teaching, learning difficulties, and suggestions for optimizing teaching methods, providing reference for further improving electrocardiogram teaching effectiveness.

This study was a cross-sectional survey research. Clinical medicine undergraduates studying at Beijing Hospital from September 2023 to September 2025 were selected as research subjects, with data collected through a combination of online questionnaires and offline interviews. The online questionnaire primarily investigated students' satisfaction with the content and teaching format of the electrocardiogram course, main difficulties encountered during the learning process, and commonly used learning resources. The offline interviews primarily explored students' suggestions for optimizing electrocardiogram teaching.

A total of 56 valid questionnaires were collected. Eighty-two point one percent (46/56) of students considered the teaching content "very comprehensive" or "relatively comprehensive," but 53.6% (30/56) reported "frequently encountering" comprehension difficulties, with the main challenges being arrhythmia identification (62.5%, 35/56) and basic clinical electrocardiography knowledge (53.6%, 30/56). Regarding preferred teaching formats, 82.1% (46/56) of students favored clinical internships, 69.6% (39/56) chose classroom instruction, and 39.3% (22/56) preferred multimedia resources. Eighty-two point one percent (46/56) of students regularly used textbooks and lecture notes as learning resources, 58.9% (33/56) referenced professional books, and 50% (28/56) used video tutorials. Seventy-five point zero percent (42/56) of students believed the course significantly improved their clinical practical abilities, but major difficulties included lack of practical experience (58.9%, 33/56) and insufficient theoretical foundation (41.1%, 23/56). A total of 5 students participated in offline interviews, with teaching suggestions primarily focused on strengthening clinical practice, innovating teaching content and methods, and optimizing learning resources.

Undergraduate clinical medicine students have relatively high overall satisfaction with electrocardiogram teaching, but face significant difficulties in interpreting arrhythmias and applying theory to clinical practice. Students generally prefer clinically-oriented teaching, but lack practical experience, suggesting the need to optimize the integration between theory and practice in ECG teaching.