BMC medical education
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BMC medical education · Dec 2010
Comparative StudyWhat are the perceived learning needs of Australian general practice registrars for quality prescribing?
Little is known about the perceived learning needs of Australian general practice (GP) registrars in relation to the quality use of medicines (QUM) or the difficulties experienced when learning to prescribe. This study aimed to address this gap. ⋯ GP registrars learn to prescribe primarily and opportunistically in the workplace. Despite many resources being expended on the provision of guidelines, decision-support systems and training, GP registrars expressed difficulties related to QUM. Ways of easing the transition into GP and of managing the information 'overload' related to medicines (and prescribing) in an evidence-guided, efficient and timely manner are needed. GP registrars should be provided with explicit feedback about the process and outcomes of prescribing decisions, including the use of audits, in order to improve their ability to judge their own prescribing.
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BMC medical education · Dec 2010
Virtual patient simulation: what do students make of it? A focus group study.
The learners' perspectives on Virtual Patient Simulation systems (VPS) are quintessential to their successful development and implementation. Focus group interviews were conducted in order to explore the opinions of medical students on the educational use of a VPS, the Web-based Simulation of Patients application (Web-SP). ⋯ Five main themes were found to be associated with successful VPS use in medical curriculum: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, Authenticity and Implementation. Medical students perceive Virtual Patients as important learning and assessment tools, fostering clinical reasoning, in preparation for the future clinical practice as young doctors. However, a number of issues regarding VPS design, authenticity and implementation need to be fulfilled, in order to reach the potential educational goals of such applications.