BMC medical education
-
BMC medical education · Apr 2018
Implementation of modified team-based learning within a problem based learning medical curriculum: a focus group study.
While Problem Based Learning (PBL) has long been established internationally, Team-based learning (TBL) is a relatively new pedagogy in medical curricula. Both PBL and TBL are designed to facilitate a learner-centred approach, where students, in interactive small groups, use peer-assisted learning to solve authentic, professionally relevant problems. Differences, however, exist between PBL and TBL in terms of preparation requirements, group numbers, learning strategies, and class structure. Although there are many similarities and some differences between PBL and TBL, both rely on constructivist learning theory to engage and motivate students in their learning. The aim of our study was to qualitatively explore students' perceptions of having their usual PBL classes run in TBL format. ⋯ Students found their learning experience in TBL and PBL qualitatively different. There were advantages and disadvantages to both. This suggests a hybrid approach utilising the strengths of both methods should be considered for wide scale implementation.
-
BMC medical education · Apr 2018
Passing MRCP (UK) PACES: a cross-sectional study examining the performance of doctors by sex and country.
There is much discussion about the sex differences that exist in medical education. Research from the United Kingdom (UK) and United States has found female doctors earn less, and are less likely to be senior authors on academic papers, but female doctors are also less likely to be sanctioned, and have been found to perform better academically and clinically. It is also known that international medical graduates tend to perform more poorly academically compared to home-trained graduates in the UK, US, and Canada. It is uncertain whether the magnitude and direction of sex differences in doctors' performance is variable by country. We explored the association between doctors' sex and their performance at a large international high-stakes clinical examination: the Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (UK) Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (PACES). We examined how sex differences varied by the country in which the doctor received their primary medical qualification, the country in which they took the PACES examination, and by the country in which they are registered to practise. ⋯ As found in a previous format of this examination and in other clinical examinations, female doctors outperformed male doctors. Further work is required to explore why sex differences were greater in non-UK graduates, especially those without GMC registration, and to consider how examination performance may relate to performance in practice.
-
BMC medical education · Apr 2018
LetterDesign and Implementation of a postgraduate curriculum to support Ethiopia's first emergency medicine residency training program: the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration in Emergency Medicine (TAAAC-EM).
To design and implement an emergency medicine (EM) postgraduate training curriculum to support the establishment of the first EM residency program at Addis Ababa University (AAU). ⋯ We have outlined the design and implementation of the TAAAC-EM curriculum; an evaluation of this curriculum is currently underway. As EM spreads as a specialty throughout Africa and other resource-limited regions, this model can serve as a working guide for similar bi-institutional educational partnerships seeking to develop novel EM postgraduate training programs.
-
BMC medical education · Apr 2018
Evaluation of a flipped classroom approach to learning introductory epidemiology.
Although the flipped classroom model has been widely adopted in medical education, reports on its use in graduate-level public health programs are limited. This study describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a flipped classroom redesign of an introductory epidemiology course and compares it to a traditional model. ⋯ There was no significant difference in students' performance on quantitative assessments comparing the traditional format to the flipped classroom format. The flipped format did allow for greater flexibility and applied learning opportunities at home and during discussion sections.
-
BMC medical education · Mar 2018
Associations between emotional intelligence, empathy and personality in Japanese medical students.
It is known that empathic communication is important for physicians to achieve higher patient satisfaction and health outcomes. Emotional intelligence (EI), empathy and personality in medical students predict students' individual disposition and their emotional and empathic perceptions. This study aimed to investigate: 1) The association between empathy, EI and personality, and 2) Gender differences in the association between empathy, EI and personality. ⋯ In our study population of 1st year medical students, females had significantly higher N, A and empathy scores than males. Medical students' N score was strongly negatively associated with EI. Empathy was weakly associated with EI and A. However, when controlling gender and personality in regression analysis, gender did not affect EI and empathy, rather personality is the most important factor. Our findings indicate that N is a major factor that negatively affects EI. It is important to mitigate N using thoughtful training, taking into account students' personalities, to reduce N. In future studies, we will assess how communication trainings for students might enhance EI.