scholarly journals Investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students’ perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum-based research module: a convergent mixed methods study launching the 8A-Model

Author(s):  
Farah Otaki ◽  
Deena AlHashmi ◽  
Amar Hassan Khamis ◽  
Aida Joseph Azar

AbstractEmbedding an experiential research curriculum into medical programs is still not widely adopted. This study investigated, using convergent mixed methods design, the journey of medical students in relation to a research module. The students’ perception of the experience was qualitatively explored using thematic analysis. The students’ performance data were quantitatively analyzed using multi-repeated ANOVA.The exploration generated four themes: 1-Attend-Acquire, 2-Accumulate-Assimilate, 3-Apply-Appreciate, and 4-Articulate-Affect. Quantitatively, two distinct clusters of mean Grade Point Average were revealed (p<0.01). Joint display analysis enabled integrating the qualitative and quantitative findings, generating the 8A-Model. The students start appreciating the experience upon conducting their research.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harlina H Siraj ◽  
Salam A ◽  
Roslan R ◽  
Hasan NA ◽  
Jin TH ◽  
...  

Introduction: Student can be stressed due to different stressors such as academic, financial, health related or loss of close family member or friend, etc. Stress is the bodies’ reaction both neurologically and physiologically to adapt to the new condition. Stress has a negative effect on the academic performance of the students. This study was aimed to explore the stress and stressors and also to determine the association between stress levels and the academic performances in terms of cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of undergraduate medical students. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted among all 234 year-4 medical students of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), session 2011-2012. Sample size comprised of 179 students after fulfilling all inclusion and exclusion criteria. A validated Medical Students’ Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ) was used to collect the data. Stress level and its association with CGPA of semester-1 examination were analysed. Results: Response rate was 76.49%, where 72% were female and 69% resided in the hostel. Academic Related and Social-related Stressors caused for severe and high stress in 84% and 49% respondents respectively, with insignificant differences between gender and residency. Respondents with a high and severe stress level were observed to have higher CGPA. Conclusion: UKM medical students are highly resourceful to manage their stress well and thus denying the negative effect of stress towards their academic performance. Medical schools should train students exposing various personal and professional developmental activities that able to face the everyday challenges and manage stress well and thereby achieve better academic performance.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laila Alsuwaidi ◽  
Farah Otaki ◽  
Amar Hassan Khamis ◽  
Reem AlGurg ◽  
Ritu Lakhtakia

Abstract Background: The secondary-to-tertiary education transition is a significant milestone in the students’ academic journeys. This is particularly relevant to entry into medical schools, which is characterized by multiple stressors. Although this crucial transition has been repetitively explored, the concept of proactively intervening to support this transition, by fostering Self- Regulated Learning, is still novel. Accordingly, through this study, the authors investigate the efficacy of an online Multi-dimensional Resilience Building Intervention and analyse the association between the students' proficiency of selected skill sets and their academic performance over time. Methods: A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted on one cohort of undergraduate medical students. The students were offered an online learning and development intervention around four skill sets during the first curricular year of an undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery program. Deidentified data, related to the students' proficiency of the four selected skill sets and the students’ academic performance: Grade-Point-Average, were retrieved. The data was analysed using SPSS for Windows version 27.0. Results: Out of the 63 admitted students, 28 participated in the offered intervention. The correlational analysis showed how increase in the overall score of skill sets proficiency was significantly associated with Year 1 GPA and cGPA. The students’ proficiency in the respective skill sets, however, was independent from their Year 2 GPA. Additionally, the performance of the students seemed to be not associated with their proficiency scores in each of the selected skill sets, independently. Conclusions: The innovative intervention of developing selected skill sets constituted an efficacious bridge to facilitate the secondary-to-tertiary education transition. Adapting such a multi-dimensional, resilience building intervention holds the potential of facilitating the students’ entry into medical school and improving their performance. As the medical student progresses, the acquired skills need to be continuously reinforced and effectively built upon.


2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 1791-96
Author(s):  
Syed Muslim Abbas ◽  
Abid Ashar

Objective: To explore medical undergraduate students’ perceptions pertaining to the key domains of leadership and highlight strategies to enhance leadership skills in undergraduate studies. Study Design: Mixed methods study. Place and Duration of Study: Fatima Memorial Hospital College of Medicine & Dentistry, Lahore, from Sep to Oct 2019. Methodology: A total of 207 medical students were recruited from the first and final year by purposive sampling to fill out a structured questionnaire. Three focus group discussions were conducted comprising of twelve students in each group. All focus groups were audio-recorded, anonymized and transcribed verbatim before the analysis by framework analysis technique. Results: Total fifty percent of the first-year students were of the view that ensuring patient safety was an important component of the leadership domain of improving services whereas only 11% responded as critically evaluating as a component of this domain. The themes that emerged pertaining to the strategies to enhance leadership skills included increasing awareness, role models depicting change, cultural challenges, and supplementing existing practices. Conclusions: The validated essential domains of leadership and its associated competencies should be streamlined strategically and prioritized in accordance with the level of training of the undergraduate medical students. A multicentre study is suggested to gather data at the national level which could inform further development of inclusion of leadership domains within undergraduate MBBS curriculum.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0260193
Author(s):  
Belinda W. C. Ommering ◽  
Floris M. Van Blankenstein ◽  
Merel van Diepen ◽  
Nelleke A. Gruis ◽  
Ada Kool ◽  
...  

Introduction Extracurricular research programmes (ERPs) may contribute to reducing the current shortage in physician-scientists, but usually select students based on grades only. The question arises if students should be selected based on their motivation, regardless of their previous academic performance. Focusing on grades and lacking to take motivation into account when selecting students for ERPs might exclude an important target group when aiming to cultivate future physician-scientists. Therefore, this study compared ERP students with lower and higher previous academic performance on subsequent academic performance, ERP performance, and motivational factors. Methods Prospective cohort study with undergraduate medical students who filled in a yearly questionnaire on motivational factors. Two student groups participating in an ERP were compared: students with first-year grade point average (GPA) ≥7 versus <7 on a 10-point grading scale. Linear and logistic regressions analyses were used to compare groups on subsequent academic performance (i.e. third-year GPA, in-time bachelor completion), ERP performance (i.e. drop-out, number of credits), and motivational factors (i.e. intrinsic motivation for research, research self-efficacy beliefs, perceptions of research, curiosity), while adjusting for gender and motivational factors at baseline. Results The <7 group had significantly lower third-year GPA, and significantly higher odds for ERP drop-out than the ≥7 group. However, there was no significant between-group difference on in-time bachelor completion and the <7 group was not inferior to the ≥7 group in terms of intrinsic motivation for research, perceptions of research, and curiosity. Conclusions Since intrinsic motivation for research, perceptions of research, and curiosity are prerequisites of future research involvement, it seems beneficial to focus on motivation when selecting students for ERPS, allowing students with lower current academic performance to participate in ERPs as well.


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-238
Author(s):  
Khurshid Anwar ◽  
Junaid Kashir ◽  
Muhammad Raihan Sajid ◽  
Abdul Jabar Rasool ◽  
Abdul Ahad Shaikh ◽  
...  

Team-based learning (TBL) provides a systematic approach to teaching and learning and promotes critical thinking and enhances medical educational activities and professional development. TBL-based didactic methodology has proven beneficial in enhancing learning and consolidating key educational concepts throughout educational curricula. Such areas of application include neuroscience, which is traditionally considered to be one of the most difficult disciplines to be taught in undergraduate medical courses to the point where the scientific literature reports “neurophobia” among undergraduate medical students. Herein, we report the design and application of a modified version of TBL, which we termed team-based review (TBR) throughout two cohorts of undergraduate medical students undertaking neuroscience. We show that our TBR methodology enhanced student understanding of neuroscience, increasing average marks and grades achieved in final exams, while also increasing the proportion of students obtaining higher grades. Application of TBR also improved marks obtained by students throughout continuous assessment (midterms, TBL, and problem-based learning grades). In surveys taken following final exams, students strongly felt that TBR enhanced their learning experience and aided knowledge acquisition, consolidation, and exam preparation. Collectively, we show that TBR-based methodology was effective in enhancing the student learning experience and performance in neuroscience and could potentially be successfully used to enhance performance and learning in other subjects in the undergraduate medical curriculum.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Nastaran Maghbouli ◽  
SeyedeZahra Emami Razavi ◽  
Mohaddeseh Azadvari ◽  
Maryam Hosseini ◽  
ShahramRahimi Dehgolan

Author(s):  
Wichuda Jiraporncharoen ◽  
Chaisiri Angkurawaranon ◽  
Manoch Chockjamsai ◽  
Athavudh Deesomchok ◽  
Juntima Euathrongchit

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the associations between learning styles and high academic achievement and to ascertain whether the factors associated with high academic achievement differed between preclinical and clinical students. Methods: A survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students in Chiang Mai University, Thailand. The Index of Learning Styles questionnaire was used to assess each student’s learning style across four domains. High academic achievement was defined as a grade point average of at least 3.0. Results: Of the 1,248 eligible medical students, 1,014 (81.3%) participated. Learning styles differed between the preclinical and clinical students in the active/reflective domain. A sequential learning style was associated with high academic achievement in both preclinical and clinical students. A reflective learning style was only associated with high academic achievement among preclinical students. Conclusion: The association between learning styles and academic achievement may have differed between preclinical and clinical students due to different learning content and teaching methods. Students should be encouraged to be flexible in their own learning styles in order to engage successfully with various and changing teaching methods across the curriculum. Instructors should be also encouraged to provide a variety of teaching materials and resources to suit different learning styles.


2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Badger ◽  
Rory Morrice ◽  
Olivia Buckeldee ◽  
Natalia Cotton ◽  
Dilshani Hunukumbure ◽  
...  

Abstract Background As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic Imperial College School of Medicine developed a structured volunteering programme involving 398 medical students, across eight teaching hospitals. This case study aims to explore the relationship between the processes, context, participant experiences and impacts of the programme so that lessons can be learned for future emergencies and service-learning programmes. Methods Using an illuminative approach to evaluation we invited all volunteers and supervisors to complete a mixed-methods survey. This explored differences in experience across demographics and contextual factors, correlations between aspects of induction, supervision and overall experience, and reviewed the impacts of the programme. Quantitative responses were statistically analysed and qualitative reflections were thematically coded to triangulate and explain quantitative findings. Follow up interviews were carried out to check back findings and co-create conclusions. Results We received responses from 61 students and 17 supervisors. Student participants described predominantly altruistic motivations and transformational changes to their professional identity driven by feeling included, having responsibility, and engaging in authentic workplace-based learning afforded by freedom from the assessed curriculum. They reported new perspectives on their future professional role within the multidisciplinary team and the value of workplace-based learning. They reported increases in wellbeing and self-esteem related to feeling included and valued, and positively contributing to service provision at a time of need. Significantly higher overall satisfaction was associated with a personalised induction, active supervision, earlier stage of training, and male gender. Gender-related differences were not explained through our data but have been reported elsewhere and warrant further study. The duration, intensity and type of role that volunteers performed was similar across demographics and did not appear to modulate their overall experience. Conclusions Whilst acknowledging the uniqueness of emergency volunteering and the survey response rate of 15% of volunteers, we suggest the features of a successful service-learning programme include: a learner-centred induction, regular contact with engaged and appreciative supervisors, and roles where students feel valued. Programmes in similar settings may find that service learning is most impactful earlier in medical students’ training and that students with altruistic motivations and meaningful work may flourish without formal outcomes and assessments.


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