BMC medical education
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BMC medical education · Feb 2016
Mapping of the biomedical literature evaluation competencies based on pharmacy students' feedback.
This study aims to map the learned curriculum based on students' feedback regarding the biomedical literature evaluation competencies in a pharmacy curriculum, to evaluate teaching methods and to report students' longitudinal self-assessment of their achievement of related learning outcomes as they progress from didactic to experiential courses. ⋯ Formative assessment results demonstrated acquisition of required analytical skills, and completion of course learning outcomes as students progressed from introductory to advanced courses covering the biomedical literature component.
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BMC medical education · Feb 2016
Role Models and Teachers: medical students perception of teaching-learning methods in clinical settings, a qualitative study from Sri Lanka.
Medical education research in general, and those focusing on clinical settings in particular, have been a low priority in South Asia. This explorative study from 3 medical schools in Sri Lanka, a South Asian country, describes undergraduate medical students' experiences during their final year clinical training with the aim of understanding the teaching-learning experiences. ⋯ Making a distinction between role modeling and purposeful teaching is important for students in clinical training settings. Clinical teachers' awareness of their own manifest professional characterizes, attitudes, and behaviors, could help create better teaching-learning experiences. Moreover, broader systemic reforms are needed to address the prevailing culture of teaching by humiliation and subordination.
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BMC medical education · Feb 2016
Enhancing future acceptance of rural placement in Tanzania through peripheral hospital rotations for medical students.
Mal-distribution of health care workers is a global health challenge that exacerbates health disparities, especially in resource-limited settings. Interventions to mitigate the problem have targeted qualified personnel with little focus on medical students. However, studies have demonstrated that rural rotations positively influence students to practice in rural settings upon graduation. To evaluate the influence of peripheral rotations in a resource-limited setting, the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College introduced a 12-week clerkship rotation in peripheral hospitals for third-year medical (MD3) students in 2012. We administered an end-of-rotation survey to assess student perceptions, and attitudes toward rural practice after graduation. ⋯ Results indicate that satisfaction with rural rotations is associated with increased likelihood of rural practice after graduation. We conclude that opportunities may exist to reduce mal-distribution of healthcare workers through interventions that target medical students.
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BMC medical education · Jan 2016
Controlled Clinical TrialSustained impact of a short small group course with systematic feedback in addition to regular clinical clerkship activities on musculoskeletal examination skills--a controlled study.
The discrepancy between the extensive impact of musculoskeletal complaints and the common deficiencies in musculoskeletal examination skills lead to increased emphasis on structured teaching and assessment. However, studies of single interventions are scarce and little is known about the time-dependent effect of assisted learning in addition to a standard curriculum. We therefore evaluated the immediate and long-term impact of a small group course on musculoskeletal examination skills. ⋯ Year 4 medical students were incapable of improving their musculoskeletal examination skills during regular clinical clerkship activities. However, an additional small group, interactive clinical skills course with feedback from various sources, improved these essential examination skills immediately after the teaching and several months later. We conclude that supplementary specific teaching activities are needed. Even a single, short-lasting targeted module can have a long lasting effect and is worth the additional effort.
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BMC medical education · Jan 2016
Benchmarking the Wilmer general eye services clinics: baseline metrics for surgical and outpatient clinic volume in an educational environment.
The Wilmer General Eye Services (GES) at the Johns Hopkins Hospital is the clinic where residents provide supervised comprehensive medical and surgical care to ophthalmology patients. The clinic schedule and supervision structure allows for a progressive increase in trainee responsibility, with graduated autonomy and longitudinal continuity of care over the three years of ophthalmology residency training. This study sought to determine the number of cases the GES contributes to the resident surgical experiences. In addition, it was intended to create benchmarks for patient volumes, cataract surgery yield and room utilization as part of an educational initiative to introduce residents to metrics important for practice management. ⋯ Our study suggests that resident-hosted clinics can provide the majority of surgical opportunities for ophthalmology trainees, particulary with regard to cataract cases. However, because our study is the first academic resident practice to publish metrics of the type used in private practices, it is impossible to determine where our clinic stands compared to other training programs. Therefore, the authors strongly encourage ophthalmology training programs to explore and publish practice metrics. This will permit the creation of a benchmarking program that could be used to quantify efforts at enhancing ophthalmic resident education.