Advances in health sciences education : theory and practice
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Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract · Aug 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialThe testing effect on skills learning might last 6 months.
In a recent study we found that testing as a final activity in a skills course increases the learning outcome compared to spending an equal amount of time practicing. Whether this testing effect measured as skills performance can be demonstrated on long-term basis is not known. The research question was: does testing as a final activity in a cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills course increase learning outcome when assessed after half a year, compared to spending an equal amount of time practicing? The study was an assessor-blinded randomised controlled trial. ⋯ The difference between groups was not statistically significant, P = 0.06. This study suggests that testing as a final activity in a CPR skills course might have an effect on long-term learning outcome compared to spending an equal amount of time practicing the skills. Although this difference was not statistically significant, the identified effect size of 0.4 can have important clinical and educational implications.
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Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract · Aug 2010
Building a competency-based curriculum: the agony and the ecstasy.
Physician competencies have increasingly been a focus of medical education at all levels. Although competencies are not a new concept, when the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) jointly agreed on six competencies for certification and maintenance of certification of physicians in 1999, it brought about renewed interest. ⋯ Building a competency-based curriculum is really about maintaining quality control and relinquishing control to those who care the most about medical education, our students. In the face of the many challenges that are facing undergraduate medical education (UME), including declining availability of teaching patients and over-burdened faculty, instituting quality control and relinquishing control will be necessary to maintain high quality.
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Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract · Aug 2010
Comparative StudyDeveloping clinical competency in crisis event management: an integrated simulation problem-based learning activity.
This study aimed to evaluate the integration of a simulation based learning activity on nursing students' clinical crisis management performance in a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. It was hypothesized that the clinical performance of first year nursing students who participated in a simulated learning activity during the PBL session would be superior to those who completed the conventional problem-based session. The students were allocated into either simulation with problem-based discussion (SPBD) or problem-based discussion (PBD) for scenarios on respiratory and cardiac distress. ⋯ Their clinical performances were scored using a checklist. Mean test scores for students completing the SPBD were significantly higher than those who completing the PBD for both the first post test (SPBD 20.08, PBD 18.19) and second post test (SPBD 27.56, PBD 23.07). Incorporation of simulation learning activities into problem-based discussion appeared to be an effective educational strategy for teaching nursing students to assess and manage crisis events.
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Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract · Aug 2010
What drives students' self-directed learning in a hybrid PBL curriculum.
Evidence supporting Problem-based learning (PBL) fostering students' self-directed learning (SDL) in hybrid PBL curricula is inconsistent. To explore the influence of PBL in a hybrid curriculum on students' SDL, the authors investigated the following: (1) students' self-assessed SDL ability, (2) students' perceptions of the influence of curricular components on SDL, and (3) the relationships between curricular elements and SDL. The research questions were explored both quantitatively and qualitatively. ⋯ Findings from students and faculty focus group supported the perceived positive influence of the curriculum on SDL. This study found that students' perceived SDL ability was positively influenced by several components of the hybrid PBL curriculum. However, further investigations are needed for a clearer understanding of the specific effects of the hybrid PBL curriculum on students' SDL.