The Impact of Strengthening Study Habits for Medical Students During COVID-19 Academic Transition: a Mixed-Methods Study

Introduction: Medical culture can make trainees feel like there is neither room for mistakes, nor space for personal shortcomings in the makeup of physicians. A dearth of role models who can exemplify that it is acceptable to need support compounds barriers to help-seeking once students struggle. We conducted a mixed-methods study to assess the impact of physicians sharing their living experiences with medical students. Methods: Second-year medical students participated, through synchronized videoconferencing, in an intervention consisting of 3 physicians who shared personal histories of vulnerability (e.g. failure on high-stakes exams; immigration and acculturation stress; and personal psychopathology, including treatment and recovery), followed by facilitated, small-group discussions. For the quantitative component, students completed the Opening Minds to Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC) before and after the intervention. For the qualitative component, we conducted focus groups to explore the study intervention. We analyzed anonymized transcripts using thematic analysis aided by NVivo software. Results: We invited all students in the class (n = 61, 46% women) to participate in the research component. Among the 53 participants (87% of the class), OMS-HC scores improved after the intervention ( P = .002), driven by the Attitudes ( P = .003) and Disclosure ( P < .001) subscales. We conducted 4 focus groups, each with a median of 6 participants (range, 5-7). We identified, through iterative thematic analysis of focus group transcripts, active components before, during, and after the intervention, with unexpected vulnerability and unarmored mutuality as particularly salient. Conclusions: Sharing histories of personal vulnerability by senior physicians can lessen stigmatized views of mental health and normalize help-seeking among medical students. Synchronous videoconferencing proved to be an effective delivery mechanism for the intervention in a ‘virtual wellness’ format. Candid sharing by physicians has the potential to enhance students’ ability to recognize, address, and seek help for their own mental health needs.

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Acute care nurses’ perceptions of leadership, teamwork, turnover intention and patient safety – a mixed methods study

BMC Nursing ◽

10.1186/s12912-021-00652-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Shahram Zaheer ◽

Liane Ginsburg ◽

Hannah J. Wong ◽

Kelly Thomson ◽

Lorna Bain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Turnover Intention ◽

Interactive Effect ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Senior Leadership ◽

Healthcare Organizations ◽

Staff Perceptions ◽

Leadership Support ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background This study contributes to a small but growing body of literature on how context influences perceptions of patient safety in healthcare settings. We examine the impact of senior leadership support for safety, supervisory leadership support for safety, teamwork, and turnover intention on overall patient safety grade. Interaction effects of predictors on perceptions of patient safety are also examined. Methods In this mixed methods study, cross-sectional survey data (N = 185) were collected from nurses and non-physician healthcare professionals. Semi-structured interview data (N = 15) were collected from nurses. The study participants worked in intensive care, general medicine, mental health, or the emergency department of a large community hospital in Southern Ontario. Results Hierarchical regression analyses showed that staff perceptions of senior leadership (p < 0.001), teamwork (p < 0.01), and turnover intention (p < 0.01) were significantly associated with overall patient safety grade. The interactive effect of teamwork and turnover intention on overall patient safety grade was also found to be significant (p < 0.05). The qualitative findings corroborated the survey results but also helped expand the characteristics of the study’s key concepts (e.g., teamwork within and across professional boundaries) and why certain statistical relationships were found to be non-significant (e.g., nurse interviewees perceived the safety specific responsibilities of frontline supervisors much more broadly compared to the narrower conceptualization of the construct in the survey). Conclusions The results of the current study suggest that senior leadership, teamwork, and turnover intention significantly impact nursing staff perceptions of patient safety. Leadership is a modifiable contextual factor and resources should be dedicated to strengthen relational competencies of healthcare leaders. Healthcare organizations must also proactively foster inter and intra-professional collaboration by providing teamwork educational workshops or other on-site learning opportunities (e.g., simulation training). Healthcare organizations would benefit by considering the interactive effect of contextual factors as another lever for patient safety improvement, e.g., lowering staff turnover intentions would maximize the positive impact of teamwork improvement initiatives on patient safety.

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The impact of self-efficacy on physical activity maintenance in patients with hip osteoarthritis – a mixed methods study

Disability and Rehabilitation ◽

10.3109/09638288.2015.1107642 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 38 (17) ◽

pp. 1691-1704 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Nanna Maria Hammer ◽

Theresa Bieler ◽

Nina Beyer ◽

Julie Midtgaard

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Hip Osteoarthritis ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

The Impact ◽

Physical Activity Maintenance

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A mixed-methods study of English vocabulary for medical purposes: medical students’ needs, difficulties, and strategies

Applied Linguistics Review ◽

10.1515/applirev-2020-0119 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Barry Lee Reynolds ◽

Xiaofang Zhang ◽

Chen Ding

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Medical Students ◽

Vocabulary Learning ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Vocabulary Size ◽

School Students ◽

Teacher Interviews ◽

Vocabulary Strategies ◽

Medical Vocabulary

Abstract This mixed-methods study investigated the English medical vocabulary strategies, needs, and difficulties of Taiwanese medical school students via an open- and closed-ended questionnaire (n = 17), a test measuring vocabulary size (n = 17), student interviews (n = 5), and teacher interviews (n = 3). Students reported using some vocabulary strategies more than others. A statistically significant negative relationship between students’ English vocabulary size and their use of word cards for vocabulary learning was also revealed. Through analysis of the interview data gathered from the medical students and their English teachers, five vocabulary learning difficulties faced by the medical students were uncovered: (1) nonexistent intentional English vocabulary learning, (2) stagnant specialized medical English vocabulary acquisition, (3) lack of sufficient contextualized academic English writing practice with newly encountered specialized medical vocabulary; (4) lack of teacher feedback on the students’ vocabulary use; and (5) lack of pedagogical communication among faculty. The pedagogical implications of these results were discussed with a focus on improving students’ vocabulary learning efficiency in light of their specialized English medical vocabulary needs.

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Do we all agree? A mixed-methods study of the impact of climate strength on psychological safety, team learning, and team performance

10.22371/05.2020.001 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Taylor Harrell

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Team Performance ◽

Team Learning ◽

Psychological Safety ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Climate Strength ◽

The Impact

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Companion Animal Type and Level of Engagement Matter: A Mixed-Methods Study Examining Links between Companion Animal Guardianship, Loneliness and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11082349 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 2349

Author(s):

Heather Clements ◽

Stephanie Valentin ◽

Nicholas Jenkins ◽

Jean Rankin ◽

Nancy R. Gee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Quantitative Data ◽

Online Survey ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Companion Animals ◽

Well Being ◽

Companion Animal ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

The Impact ◽

Mental Well Being

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, countries worldwide placed limitations on social interaction, which is anticipated to have severe psychological consequences. Although findings are inconsistent, prior research has suggested that companion animals may positively influence human well-being and reduce loneliness. In the context of COVID-19, this has important implications, as companion animal guardians may be less negatively affected by the pandemic. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the influence of companion animals on mental well-being and loneliness during the pandemic, with specific interest in the role of ornamental fishes. A mixed-methods study was conducted, using an international sample. Quantitative data were collected via an online survey (n = 1199) and analysed using robust hierarchical multiple regression analyses; the influence of level of engagement with companion animals was examined for dogs, cats and ornamental fishes. There was no evidence that companion animal guardianship was associated with loneliness and mental well-being during the pandemic but spending more time engaging physically or socially with dogs (and to a lesser extent cats) was generally associated with poorer outcomes. Qualitative data were collected through open-ended survey responses (n = 757) and semi-structured interviews (n = 25) and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Two themes were developed—one related to companion animals as providers of social and emotional support, and the other to companion animals as providers of purpose and perspective. Concerns regarding the impact of the pandemic on animal welfare were also identified. Compared to other animal types, more participants expressed indifference regarding the impact of their fishes on their well-being during the pandemic, possibly because fishes cannot provide comfort via physical touch. The findings of this study reflect the wider field of human–animal interaction; although qualitative data suggest guardians believe their companion animals are a positive influence in their lives, there is little convincing quantitative data to support these beliefs. This highlights the need to refine theories regarding which aspects of companion animal guardianship may influence human well-being; the findings from this research may be useful in the refinement of such theories.

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Exploration of undergraduate preservice teachers' experiences learning advocacy: A mixed-methods study

Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning ◽

10.14434/josotl.v14i3.5071 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 75-93 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Kelley Erin Carpenter Massengale ◽

Cherese Childers-McKee ◽

Aerin Benavides

Keyword(s):

Preservice Teachers ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Letter Writing ◽

College Instruction ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Meaningful Activity ◽

Teachers Experiences ◽

The Impact

Abstract: Applying transformational critical advocacy research in college instruction can be a powerful way to engage students in challenging inequity in society and promoting positive changes. Few studies systematically measure the impact of such pedagogy on the development of college students’ beliefs about advocacy. In this mixed methods study, we worked with 21 preservice teachers through advocacy letter writing activities and collected data from pre/post surveys and focus group discussions to explore the impact of such pedagogy. The findings indicated that advocacy letter writing was a meaningful activity for preservice teachers, allowing them a professional opportunity to voice their concerns about personally meaningful issues to entities in power. A significant correlation was found between baseline advocacy experiences and baseline advocacy beliefs, suggesting that the teaching of advocacy, when combined with opportunities for meaningful practice, can contribute to shifts in belief about the importance of advocating.

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