BMC medical education
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BMC medical education · Sep 2017
The potential of a self-assessment tool to identify healthcare professionals' strengths and areas in need of professional development to aid effective facilitation of group-based, person-centered diabetes education.
Healthcare professionals' person-centered communication skills are pivotal for successful group-based diabetes education. However, healthcare professionals are often insufficiently equipped to facilitate person-centeredness and many have never received post-graduate training. Currently, assessing professionals' skills in conducting group-based, person-centered diabetes education primarily focus on experts measuring and coding skills on various scales. However, learner-centered approaches such as adequate self-reflective tools have been shown to emphasize professional autonomy and promote engagement. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of a self-assessment tool to identify healthcare professionals' strengths and areas in need of professional development to aid effective facilitation of group-based, person-centered diabetes education. ⋯ Healthcare professionals self-assessed the same professional skills as observed in practice. Thus, a tool to self-assess professional skills in facilitating group-based diabetes education seems to be useful as a starting point to promote self-reflections and identification of healthcare professionals' strengths and areas of need of professional development.
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BMC medical education · Sep 2017
ReviewDescriptors for unprofessional behaviours of medical students: a systematic review and categorisation.
Developing professionalism is a core task in medical education. Unfortunately, it has remained difficult for educators to identify medical students' unprofessionalism, because, among other reasons, there are no commonly adopted descriptors that can be used to document students' unprofessional behaviour. This study aimed to generate an overview of descriptors for unprofessional behaviour based on research evidence of real-life unprofessional behaviours of medical students. ⋯ This overview provides a common language to describe medical students' unprofessional behaviour. The framework of descriptors is proposed as a tool for educators to denominate students' unprofessional behaviours. The found behaviours can have various causes, which should be explored in a discussion with the student about personal, interpersonal and/or institutional circumstances in which the behaviour occurred. Explicitly denominating unprofessional behaviour serves two goals: [i] creating a culture in which unprofessional behaviour is acknowledged, [ii] targeting students who need extra guidance. Both are important to avoid unprofessional behaviour among future doctors.
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BMC medical education · Sep 2017
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyVirtual patients in the acquisition of clinical reasoning skills: does presentation mode matter? A quasi-randomized controlled trial.
The objective of this study is to compare two different instructional methods in the curricular use of computerized virtual patients in undergraduate medical education. We aim to investigate whether using many short and focused cases - the key feature principle - is more effective for the learning of clinical reasoning skills than using few long and systematic cases. ⋯ In this study powered for a medium effect, we could not provide empirical evidence for the hypothesis that a key feature-based instruction on multiple short cases is superior to a systematic instruction on few long cases in the curricular implementation of virtual patients. The results of the evaluation survey suggest that learners should be given enough time to work through case examples, and that caution should be taken to prevent cognitive overload.
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BMC medical education · Sep 2017
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyIncreasing confidence and changing behaviors in primary care providers engaged in genetic counselling.
Screening and counseling for genetic conditions is an increasingly important part of primary care practice, particularly given the paucity of genetic counselors in the United States. However, primary care physicians (PCPs) often have an inadequate understanding of evidence-based screening; communication approaches that encourage shared decision-making; ethical, legal, and social implication (ELSI) issues related to screening for genetic mutations; and the basics of clinical genetics. This study explored whether an interactive, web-based genetics curriculum directed at PCPs in non-academic primary care settings was superior at changing practice knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors when compared to a traditional educational approach, particularly when discussing common genetic conditions. ⋯ While our intervention was deemed more enjoyable, demonstrated significant factual learning and retention, and increased shared decision making practices, there were few differences in behavior changes around ELSI discussions. Unfortunately, barriers to implementing behavior change in clinical genetics is not unique to our intervention. Perhaps the missing element is that busy physicians need systems-level support to engage in meaningful discussions around genetics issues. The next step in promoting active engagement between doctors and patients may be to put into place the tools needed for PCPs to easily access the materials they need at the point-of-care to engage in joint discussions around clinical genetics.
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BMC medical education · Sep 2017
Paediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation training program in Latin-America: the RIBEPCI experience.
To describe the design and to present the results of a paediatric and neonatal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training program adapted to Latin-America. ⋯ Training of autonomous Paediatric CPR groups with the collaboration and scientific assessment of an expert group is a good model program to develop Paediatric CPR training in low- and middle income countries. Participation of groups of different countries in the educational activities is an important method to establish a cooperation network.