Effect of In-Class vs Online Education on Sexual Health Communication Skills in First-Year Medical Students: a Pilot Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-179
Author(s):  
Brian A. Palmer ◽  
James H. Lee ◽  
Kristin J. Somers ◽  
Cosima C. Swintak ◽  
Jordan Rullo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Sexual Health Communication ◽  
First Year Medical Students

Perception of medical students about online learning in the COVID-19 era

Biomedicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-145
Author(s):  
Kalpana Ramachandran ◽  
Robert Dinesh Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
P Value ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Internet Connectivity ◽  
First Year Medical Students

Introduction and Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a disruption in the academic schedule. As UNESCO observes an 87% interruption in student learning across the globe, it is undeniable that e-learning would have a major role to play in the future and both teachers and learners are getting accustomed to this ‘New Normalcy’. This survey analyses the perception of medical first-year students about online learning in the COVID-19 era.   Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire based study was done and first year medical students were asked to respond. The respondents were asked to answer the questions in Likert-scale, from 1-5. Statistical analysis was done and Test for one proportion was calculated using ‘z’ test. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.   Results: A total of 122 first year medical students responded to the survey. More than two-thirds of the respondents were females (67%). About 78% of respondents find online learning interesting and enjoyable. More than 80% of students found online education very satisfactory in all aspects. Problems with internet connectivity was the principal challenge faced by the students during online learning. An overwhelming 70% of students felt online teaching to be very beneficial.   Conclusion: The pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to the academic schedule. Although many challenges were faced by the teachers and learners, internet connectivity continued to be a major problem in online education. It is the duty of every educationist to ensure an uninterrupted, continuous and an effective process of teaching and learning.  

scholarly journals A cross-sectional study exploring attitudes of first year medical students towards psychiatry and factors they identified that would help stimulate their interest

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S146-S146
Author(s):  
Isabel Mark ◽  
Victoria Fernandez Garcia De Las Heras
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Role Model ◽  
P Value ◽  
First Year ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
First Year Medical Students

AimsPsychiatry has had long standing recruitment difficulties. Many efforts have been made to explore strategies that encourage interest in the specialty, with early university experience being an important factor in ultimate career choice. The Royal College of Psychiatrists ‘Choose Psychiatry’ guidance for medical schools outlines four key areas of focus: teaching excellence, placement quality, leadership and enrichment activities, with other research reporting similar conclusions. The aim of this study was to assess attitudes towards psychiatry amongst first year medical students, examine what input they would welcome from psychiatrists at this stage of their career and consider if their wishes are in keeping with the ‘Choose Psychiatry’ guidance.MethodAll first-year medical students at St George's University of London were approached in October 2019 and offered the opportunity for early psychiatry exposure. 60 students were recruited. Data were collected in November 2019 via an online questionnaire comprising of baseline demographics, the 30-item Attitudes Towards Psychiatry questionnaire (ATP-30) and a free-text question asking what students would like from psychiatry at this stage of their education. Quantitative data were analysed using Excel, whilst qualitative data were analysed thematically.ResultThe mean ATP-30 score was 113.83 (SD 12.57, range 70-135). Gender, ethnicity and religious background were not associated with a change in ATP score. Undergraduates’ attitudes were more positive than those of postgraduates (independent t-test revealed a p-value of 0.087). Seven themes were identified outlining what students wanted from psychiatry, the most prominent being: (a) learning about the lifestyle of a psychiatrist and finding a role model, (b) exploring the patient perspective, (c) exploring the interaction between psychiatry and specialities and (d) having an opportunity to develop communication skills.ConclusionThe findings demonstrate higher ATP-30 results than previous literature has reported, potentially due to mental health awareness campaigns in recent years. As undergraduates were found to have a higher mean score, targeting them for additional psychiatry contact may be beneficial. Themes identified by students in this study support ‘Choose Psychiatry’ guidance, whilst also highlighting the potential for combining some psychiatry with other specialties in the curriculum. Integration with communication skills teaching might help engage those not initially psychiatry-inclined. Further study will be required to establish whether implementing the suggested strategies can lead to improvement in student ATP-30 scores and ultimately increased recruitment rates.

scholarly journals Using Item Analysis to Assess Objectively the Quality of the Calgary-Cambridge OSCE Checklist

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. e16-e22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyrone Donnon ◽  
Murray Lee ◽  
Sarah Cairncross
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Item Analysis ◽  
Practical Approach ◽  
First Year ◽  
Internal Reliability ◽  
The Mean ◽  
K 12 ◽  
First Year Medical Students

Background:  The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of item analysis to assess objectively the quality of items on the Calgary-Cambridge Communications OSCE checklist.Methods:  A total of 150 first year medical students were provided with extensive teaching on the use of the Calgary-Cambridge Guidelines for interviewing patients and participated in a final year end 20 minute communication OSCE station.  Grouped into either the upper half (50%) or lower half (50%) communication skills performance groups, discrimination, difficulty and point biserial values were calculated for each checklist item.Results:  The mean score on the 33 item communication checklist was 24.09 (SD = 4.46) and the internal reliability coefficient was ? = 0.77. Although most of the items were found to have moderate (k = 12, 36%) or excellent (k = 10, 30%) discrimination values, there were 6 (18%) identified as ‘fair’ and 3 (9%) as ‘poor’. A post-examination review focused on item analysis findings resulted in an increase in checklist reliability (? = 0.80).Conclusions:  Item analysis has been used with MCQ exams extensively. In this study, it was also found to be an objective and practical approach to use in evaluating the quality of a standardized OSCE checklist.

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