Medical education
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Electives are part of most Western medical school curricula. It is estimated that each year 3000-4000 undergraduate medical students from the UK alone undertake an elective in a developing country. The impact of these electives has given some cause for concern, but the views of elective hosts are largely missing from the debate. ⋯ The challenge to both students and their sending institutions is to progress towards giving something proportionate back in return for the learning experiences received. There is clearly room to improve electives from the hosts' perspective, but individually host institutions lack the opportunity or ability to achieve change.
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Review Meta Analysis
Self-regulated learning in simulation-based training: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Self-regulated learning (SRL) requires an active learner who has developed a set of processes for managing the achievement of learning goals. Simulation-based training is one context in which trainees can safely practise learning how to learn. ⋯ Few studies in the simulation literature have designed SRL training to explicitly support trainees' capacity to self-regulate their learning. We recommend that educators and researchers shift from thinking about SRL as learning alone to thinking of SRL as comprising a shared responsibility between the trainee and the instructional designer (i.e. learning using designed supports that help prepare individuals for future learning).
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of dyad versus individual simulation-based ultrasound training on skills transfer.
Dyad practice may be as effective as individual practice during clinical skills training, improve students' confidence, and reduce costs of training. However, there is little evidence that dyad training is non-inferior to single-student practice in terms of skills transfer. ⋯ Dyad practice improves the efficiency of simulation-based training and is non-inferior to individual practice in terms of skills transfer.
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Review Comparative Study
A systematic review of validity evidence for checklists versus global rating scales in simulation-based assessment.
The relative advantages and disadvantages of checklists and global rating scales (GRSs) have long been debated. To compare the merits of these scale types, we conducted a systematic review of the validity evidence for checklists and GRSs in the context of simulation-based assessment of health professionals. ⋯ Checklist inter-rater reliability and trainee discrimination were more favourable than suggested in earlier work, but each task requires a separate checklist. Compared with the checklist, the GRS has higher average inter-item and inter-station reliability, can be used across multiple tasks, and may better capture nuanced elements of expertise.
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Medical schools in Western societies seek measures to increase the diversity of their student bodies with respect to ethnicity and social background. Currently, little is known about the effects of different selection procedures on student diversity. ⋯ The absence of differences on non-academic criteria was promising with reference to increasing social and ethnic diversity; however, the possibility that self-selection instigated by the selection procedure is stronger in applicants from non-traditional backgrounds cannot be ruled out. Further research should also focus on why cognitive tests might favour traditional applicants.