Medical education online
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Medical education online · Jan 2013
Comparative StudyA comparison of two scales for assessing health professional students' attitude toward interprofessional learning.
The validated 19-item Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) is often used for assessing attitudes toward interprofessional education (IPE). The 12-item Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS), also used for this purpose, has not been validated among the professions of medicine, pharmacy, and physician assistants (PAs). The discriminatory ability of the two scales has not been directly compared. Comparison of the two will aid educators in selecting the optimal scale. ⋯ Neither the RIPLS nor the IEPS has greater discriminatory ability for detecting attitude differences among the student subgroups. Reason for differences may be explained by slightly different scale constructs. The RIPLS is designed to assess students' own attitude toward interprofessional learning, while the IEPS discerns perceived attitudes about team collaboration for students' own professions and may be more appropriate for more advanced students.
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Medical education online · Jan 2013
Writing and reading in the electronic health record: an entirely new world.
Electronic health records (EHRs) are structured, distributed documentation systems that differ from paper charts. These systems require skills not traditionally used to navigate a paper chart and to produce a written clinic note. Despite these differences, little attention has been given to physicians' electronic health record (EHR)-writing and -reading competence. ⋯ Writing and reading EHR documentation is different for physicians. Maximizing navigation skills can optimize non-linear EHR writing and reading. Pedagogical questions remain related to how physicians and medical students are able to retrieve correct information effectively and to understand thought patterns in collectively lengthier and sometimes fragmented EHR chart notes.
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Medical education online · Jan 2013
Measuring psychological flexibility in medical students and residents: a psychometric analysis.
Psychological flexibility involves mindful awareness of our thoughts and feelings without allowing them to prohibit acting consistently with our values and may have important implications for patient-centered clinical care. Although psychological flexibility appears quite relevant to the training and development of health care providers, prior research has not evaluated measures of psychological flexibility in medical learners. Therefore, we investigated the validity of our learners' responses to three measures related to psychological flexibility. ⋯ Our findings provide preliminary evidence supporting validity of the psychological flexibility construct in a medical education sample. As psychological flexibility is a central concept underlying self-awareness, this work may have important implications for clinical training and practice.
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Medical education online · Jan 2013
Embodied health: the effects of a mind-body course for medical students.
An effective career in medicine requires empathy and compassion, yet the demands of a medical education increase stress and decrease students' ability to connect with patients. However, research suggests mind-body practices improve psychological well-being. This study aimed to evaluate the psychological effects on medical students of an 11-week elective course, Embodied Health or EH, which combines yoga and meditation with neuroscience didactics. ⋯ A mind-body course for medical students increased self-regulation and self-compassion. Qualitative themes discussed in students' post-course essays reflected these effects.
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Medical education online · Jan 2013
Death is not always a failure: outcomes from implementing an online virtual patient clinical case in palliative care for family medicine clerkship.
The dying patient is a reality of medicine. Medical students, however, feel unprepared to effectively manage the complex end-of-life (EOL) management issues of the dying patient and want increased experiential learning in Palliative Care. ⋯ The online VP case in Palliative Care is a useful teaching tool that may help to address the need for increased formal Palliative Care experience in medical school training programs.