BMC medical education
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BMC medical education · Nov 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyArt-making in a family medicine clerkship: how does it affect medical student empathy?
To provide patient-centred holistic care, doctors must possess good interpersonal and empathic skills. Medical schools traditionally adopt a skills-based approach to such training but creative engagement with the arts has also been effective. A novel arts-based approach may help medical students develop empathic understanding of patients and thus contribute to medical students' transformative process into compassionate doctors. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an arts-making workshop on medical student empathy. ⋯ Though quantitative findings showed little difference in empathy between groups, arts-making workshop participants gained empathic understanding in four different thematic areas. This workshop also seemed to promote greater self-awareness which may help medical students recognize the potential for emotions to sway judgment. Future art workshops should focus on emotional awareness and regulation.
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BMC medical education · Nov 2014
Comparative StudyImpact of a competency based curriculum on quality improvement among internal medicine residents.
Teaching quality improvement (QI) principles during residency is an important component of promoting patient safety and improving quality of care. The literature on QI curricula for internal medicine residents is limited. We sought to evaluate the impact of a competency based curriculum on QI among internal medicine residents. ⋯ The competency based curriculum on QI improved residents' QI knowledge and skills during residency training. Importantly, residents perceived that their QI knowledge improved after the curriculum and this also correlated to improved QIKAT scores. Experiential QI project work appeared to contribute to sustaining QI knowledge at twelve months.
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BMC medical education · Oct 2014
Five teacher profiles in student-centred curricula based on their conceptions of learning and teaching.
Teachers' conceptions of learning and teaching are partly unconscious. However, they are critical for the delivery of education and affect students' learning outcomes. Lasting changes in teaching behaviour can only be realized if conceptions of teachers have been changed accordingly. Previously we constructed a questionnaire named COLT to measure conceptions. In the present study, we investigated if different teacher profiles could be assessed which are based on the teachers' conceptions. These teacher profiles might have implications for individual teachers, for faculty development activities and for institutes. Our research questions were: (1) Can we identify teacher profiles based on the COLT? (2) If so, how are these teacher profiles associated with other teacher characteristics? ⋯ Based on teachers' conceptions of learning and teaching, five teacher profiles were found in student-centred education. We offered suggestions how insight into these teacher profiles might be useful for individual teachers, for faculty development activities and for institutes and departments, especially if involved in a curriculum reform towards student-centred education.
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BMC medical education · Oct 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyProcedural specificity in laparoscopic simulator training: protocol for a randomised educational superiority trial.
The use of structured curricula for minimally invasive surgery training is becoming increasingly popular. However, many laparoscopic training programs still use basic skills and isolated task training, despite increasing evidence to support the use of training models with higher functional resemblance, such as whole procedural modules. In contrast to basic skills training, procedural training involves several cognitive skills such as elements of planning, movement integration, and how to avoid adverse events. The objective of this trial is to investigate the specificity of procedural practice in laparoscopic simulator training. ⋯ The results of this trial might provide new knowledge on how the technical part of surgical training curricula should be comprised in the future. To examine the specificity of practice in procedural simulator training is of great importance in order to develop more comprehensive surgical curricula.
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BMC medical education · Sep 2014
Assessment of faculty productivity in academic departments of medicine in the United States: a national survey.
Faculty productivity is essential for academic medical centers striving to achieve excellence and national recognition. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether and how academic Departments of Medicine in the United States measure faculty productivity for the purpose of salary compensation. ⋯ Our survey suggests that most academic Departments of Medicine in the United States measure faculty productivity and convert it into standardized units for the purpose of salary compensation. The exact activities that are measured and how they are monetarily compensated varied substantially across departments.