BMC medical education
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BMC medical education · Jun 2013
What is different about medical students interested in non-clinical careers?
The proportion of medical school graduates who pursue careers other than full-time clinical practice has increased in some countries as the physician's role has evolved and diversified with the changing landscape of clinical practice and the advancement of biomedicine. Still, past studies of medical students' career choices have focused on clinical specialties and little is known about their choice of non-clinical careers. The present study examined backgrounds, motivation and perceptions of medical students who intended non-clinical careers. ⋯ Our study found some differences in backgrounds and perceptions of the study of medicine in medical students interested in non-clinical careers from their peers. Future studies are suggested to enhance our understanding of medical students" choice of non-clinical careers.
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BMC medical education · May 2013
Comparative StudyThe effect of implementing undergraduate competency-based medical education on students' knowledge acquisition, clinical performance and perceived preparedness for practice: a comparative study.
Little is known about the gains and losses associated with the implementation of undergraduate competency-based medical education. Therefore, we compared knowledge acquisition, clinical performance and perceived preparedness for practice of students from a competency-based active learning (CBAL) curriculum and a prior active learning (AL) curriculum. ⋯ Our data do not support the assumption that competency-based education results in graduates who are better prepared for medical practice. More research is needed before we can draw generalizable conclusions on the potential of undergraduate competency-based medical education.
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BMC medical education · May 2013
Details acquired from medical history and patients' experience of empathy--two sides of the same coin.
History taking and empathetic communication are two important aspects in successful physician-patient interaction. Gathering important information from the patient's medical history is needed for effective clinical decision making while empathy is relevant for patient satisfaction. We wanted to investigate whether medical students near graduation are able to combine both skills as required in daily medical practice. ⋯ Gathering sufficient medical data from a patient's history and empathetic communication are two completely separate sides of the coin of history taking. While both skills have to be acquired during medical school training with particular focus on their respective learning objectives, medical students need to be provided with additional learning and feedback opportunities where they can be observed exercising both skills combined as required in physicians' daily practice.
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BMC medical education · Mar 2013
Few gender differences in specialty preferences and motivational factors: a cross-sectional Swedish study on last-year medical students.
Today, women constitute about half of medical students in several Western societies, yet women physicians are still underrepresented in surgical specialties and clustered in other branches of medicine. Gender segregation in specialty preference has been found already in medical school. It is important to study the career preferences of our future physicians, as they will influence the maintenance of an adequate supply of physicians in all specialties and the future provision of health care. American and British studies dominate the area of gender and medical careers whereas Swedish studies on medical students' reasons for specialty preference are scarce. The aim of this study is to investigate and compare Swedish male and female medical students' specialty preferences and the motives behind them. ⋯ The gender similarities in the medical students' specialty preferences are striking and contrast with research from other Western countries where male and female students show more differences in career aspirations. These similarities should be seized by the health care system in order to counteract the horizontal gender segregation in the physician workforce of today.
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BMC medical education · Mar 2013
Emotional intelligence assessment in a graduate entry medical school curriculum.
The management of emotions in the workplace is a skill related to the ability to demonstrate empathic behaviour towards patients; to manage emotional reactions in oneself and to lead others as part of a team. This ability has been defined as emotional intelligence (EI) and doctor's EI may be related to communication skills and to patient satisfaction levels. This study reports on the use of two assessments of EI as part of a course on Personal and Professional Development (PPD) in a graduate medical school curriculum. ⋯ This report concludes that assessments of EI can be incorporated into a medical school curriculum as part of a PPD programme and that the concept of EI may be associated with performance in medical school.