BMC medical education
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BMC medical education · Oct 2015
Inter-professional in-situ simulated team and resuscitation training for patient safety: Description and impact of a programmatic approach.
Inter-professional teamwork is key for patient safety and team training is an effective strategy to improve patient outcome. In-situ simulation is a relatively new strategy with emerging efficacy, but best practices for the design, delivery and implementation have yet to be evaluated. Our aim is to describe and evaluate the implementation of an inter-professional in-situ simulated team and resuscitation training in a teaching hospital with a programmatic approach. ⋯ The programmatic approach of Kern's six steps for curriculum development helped to overcome barriers of design, implementation and assessment of an in-situ team and resuscitation training program. This approach may help improve effectiveness and impact of an in-situ simulated training program.
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BMC medical education · Oct 2015
Comparative StudyIs a picture worth a thousand words: an analysis of the difficulty and discrimination parameters of illustrated vs. text-alone vignettes in histology multiple choice questions.
Advances in cognitive load theory have led to greater understanding of how we process verbal and visual material during learning, but the evidence base with regard to the use of images within written assessments is still sparse. This study examines whether the inclusion of images within the stimulus format of multiple choice questions (MCQs) has a predictable or consistent influence on psychometric item properties, such as difficulty or discrimination. ⋯ We demonstrate that the addition of illustrations within undergraduate histology Multiple Choice Question stems has no overall influence on item difficulty, or measures of item discrimination. We conclude that the use of images in this context is statistically uncritical, and suggest that their inclusion within item stems should be based upon the principles of constructive alignment. However, further research with respect to the effect of images within item stems on cognitive processing, particularly with regard to image complexity or type, would enable the development of more informed guidelines for their use.
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BMC medical education · Oct 2015
Comparative StudyA little healthy competition: using mixed methods to pilot a team-based digital game for boosting medical student engagement with anatomy and histology content.
Digital games have been demonstrated to be beneficial for a range of non-recreational purposes, with a particular focus on their value for education. There is a limited amount of research supporting their use for medical education, but their are several studies on their use in areas such as surgical training, and life-support re-training. However, a significant gap exists in demonstrating how they engage with learners and games can be used most effectively in medical education. This pilot study assessed the value of digital games for teaching anatomy, by evaluating participant engagement and their attitudes towards a team-based strategy game. ⋯ This study demonstrated that digital games can engage medical students in traditionally-challenging areas such as anatomy and offer learners unique insights into their knowledge strengths and deficits.
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BMC medical education · Oct 2015
Comparative StudyWidening access to medicine may improve general practitioner recruitment in deprived and rural communities: survey of GP origins and current place of work.
Widening access to medicine in the UK is a recalcitrant problem of increasing political importance, with associated strong social justice arguments but without clear evidence of impact on service delivery. Evidence from the United States suggests that widening access may enhance care to underserved communities. Additionally, rural origin has been demonstrated to be the factor most strongly associated with rural practice. However the evidence regarding socio-economic and rural background and subsequent practice locations in the UK has not been explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between general practitioners' (GPs) socio-economic and rural background at application to medical school and demographic characteristics of their current practice. ⋯ This study showed that childhood background is associated with the population GPs subsequently serve, implying that widening access may positively affect service delivery in addition to any social justice rationale. Longitudinal research is needed to explore this association and the impact of widening access on service delivery more broadly.
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BMC medical education · Oct 2015
Comparative StudyExamining influential factors in providers' chronic pain treatment decisions: a comparison of physicians and medical students.
Chronic pain treatment guidelines are unclear and conflicting, which contributes to inconsistent pain care. In order to improve pain care, it is important to understand the various factors that providers rely on to make treatment decisions. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that reportedly influence providers' chronic pain treatment decisions. A secondary aim was to examine differences across participant training level. ⋯ These results highlight the complexity of chronic pain care and suggest a need for more chronic pain education aimed at medical students and practicing providers.