scholarly journals Attitude, but not self-evaluated knowledge, correlates with academic performance in physiology in Thai medical students

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nachchakorn Kwankajonwong ◽  
Chuthamas Ongprakobkul ◽  
Shaun Peter Qureshi ◽  
Pasakorn Watanatada ◽  
Sekh Thanprasertsuk ◽  
...  

Positive attitude and self-evaluation are necessary for medical students and doctors. To explore how best to integrate physiology teaching in our Thai medical curriculum, we investigated relationships between student’s academic performance, their attitude, self-evaluated knowledge, and proportion of physiology taught in an organ-system integrated block. We organized 13 physiology laboratory classes, during which students self-rated attitude and knowledge. Academic performance was measured by formative and summative assessments. One hundred thirty-six participants were categorized into most proactive (Most PA), more proactive (More PA), less proactive (Less PA), and least proactive (Least PA) attitude groups by self-preparation questionnaire. Eighty participants were categorized into high (HighE), moderate (ModerateE), and low (LowE) self-evaluation rating groups. Mean formatives score in the Most PA group was significantly higher than in the other PA groups ( P = 0.003, P = 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively). Mean summative score in the Most PA group was significantly higher than the Less PA and the Least PA groups ( P = 0.017 and P = 0.015 respectively). There was no significant difference in mean assessment scores among HighE, ModerateE, and LowE groups. Proportion of teaching time dedicated to physiology positively correlated with student attitude ( r = 0.84, P = 0.001) and negatively correlated with self-evaluation rating ( r = −0.73, P = 0.007). Thai medical students may benefit from a proactive attitude to studying physiology, contrasting with traditional didactic expectations of Thai education. Proportion of teaching time dedicated to physiology does not influence academic performance; therefore, future adjustments to curriculum integration may incorporate classes that facilitate self-directed learning. Future study should explore other influences on learning and assessment performance.

Author(s):  
Sehlule Vuma ◽  
Bidyadhar Sa

Background: Problem-based learning (PBL) emphasizes students’ self-directed learning. This requires students to monitor their own learning.  When students enter medical school however, they do not seem to have self-monitoring skills and these need to be developed. Self-assessment exercises are useful in developing these skills. This paper emphasizes the importance of training in self-assessment during PBL. Objective was to describe third-year medical students’ self-assessment of their performance during PBL and correlate their scores with tutors’ scores, and their scores in a written progressive disclosure questions (PDQ) examinationMethods: Using the same rubric used for students’ evaluation by tutors, students scored their activities during PBL sessions. Their scores were compared with the tutor’s scores. Their scores for cognitive skills were further compared with their scores in a PDQ examination.Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the tutor and students’ scores. Low-achieving students (in the PDQ) scored themselves higher than high-achieving students. Self-assessment scores did not predict performance in the PDQ.Conclusions: Perhaps the high-achievers are more critical of themselves which drives them to work harder. Low-achieving students could be awarding themselves scores they wish to obtain and not what they deserve. They may also not understand the assessment criteria. This paper emphasizes the importance of self-assessment exercises, and the need to guide students in learning to assess themselves accurately so they may be better able to monitor their learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 238212052098418
Author(s):  
William Beedham ◽  
Kasun Wanigasooriya ◽  
Georgia R Layton ◽  
Ley Taing Chan ◽  
Adnan Darr ◽  
...  

Background: Starting work as a junior doctor can be daunting for any medical student. There are numerous aspects of the hidden curriculum which many students fail to acquire during their training. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel foundation year one (FY1) doctor preparation course focusing on certain core topics, practical tips and components of the hidden curriculum. The primary objective was to improve the confidence level and knowledge of final year medical students transitioning to FY1 doctors. Method: A 2-day, practical course titled ‘Preparation 2 Practice’ delivering hands-on, small-group and lecture-based teaching, covering core medical student undergraduate curriculum topics in medicine and surgery. The course content spanned therapeutics, documentation skills and managing acute clinical tasks encountered by FY1 doctors during an on-call shift. A pre- and post-course survey and knowledge assessment were carried out to assess the effectiveness of the course. The assessment was MCQ-based, derived from topics covered within our course. The 20-question test and a short survey were administered electronically. Results: Twenty students from a single UK medical school attended the course. 100% participation was observed in the pre- and post-course test and survey. The median post-course test result was 22 (IQR 20.25-23.75) which was higher than the median pre-course test score of 18.75 (IQR 17-21.75). A Wilcoxon sign rank test revealed a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-course test results ( P = .0003). The self-reported confidence score of delegates on starting work as a junior doctor was also significantly higher following the course ( P = .004). Conclusion: The results show a significant improvement in perceived confidence and knowledge on core curriculum topics amongst final year medical students having attended our FY1 doctor preparation course. We conclude that there is scope for similar supplementary courses as an adjunct to the undergraduate medical curriculum.


Author(s):  
Shaikh Arshiya Kaiser Husain ◽  
Anwaya R. Magare ◽  
Purushottam A. Giri ◽  
Vijaykumar S. Jadhav

Background: The aim of medical education is to produce competent, physically and mentally strong health professionals, as they are going to be the pillars of the future health care system. Stress is one of the most common and process-oriented obstacles in medical education. It often exerts a negative effect on the academic performance, physical health, and psychological well-being of the students. Dealing with overloaded medical curriculum, competing with peers, being away from home and meeting high expectations imposed by parents and society to excel is among the common stressful transitions at this stage.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out amongst 352 undergraduate medical students of a private medical college in a rural area of Maharashtra during April to October 2019. The structured questionnaire was used to record the data. Collected data was used to assess the severity of mental health issues among medical students.Results: Majority 194 (55.11%) students were in the age of 18 to 20 years followed by 141 (40.06%) were in 21 to 23 years. There were 196 (55.68%) girl students and 156 (44.32%) boys. According to the various categories, 80 (22.73%) of the students had low stress scores, followed by 76 (21.59%) in minimal. A highly significant difference in stress scores was seen between boys and girls, which was more in boys.Conclusions: Study concluded that undergraduate medical students perceive minimal to very high stress presented as various systems that vary with the year of study and gender wise too. There is a further need to look into the various causes of stress.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Sukhraj Kaur ◽  
Ritu Sharma

Objectives: Biochemistry is one of the foundation sciences in the medical curriculum, which has immense importance in understanding the future clinical sciences, but it is generally considered to be a subject of just countless biochemical structures, pathways, and reactions. Conventionally, it was taught by means of didactic lectures, tutorials, and practical classes. These days, the education system is changing to a student-centered teaching–learning process with the use of various innovative teaching methods. Case-based learning (CBL) is one such approach which can make learning more effective and interesting. To generate interest of students in Biochemistry by correlating topics and their clinical application. Materials and Methods: After taking permission from the Institutional ethics committee, the students were given didactic lecture on the integration of carbohydrates and lipid metabolisms followed by a test (pre-test). They were then divided into small groups and given case histories which they were to discuss amongst themselves and arrive at a conclusion. These case histories were then discussed one to one with the facilitator. The students were again given a test (post-test). Results: There was a significant difference in the marks obtained in pre and post-test. Majority of the students felt it was an enjoyable and effective way of studying Biochemistry. Faculty also gave an encouraging response. Conclusion: CBL can be an important way of stimulating the students for self-directed learning and integrating topics of Biochemistry so that they are easily conceptualized.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-409
Author(s):  
Su Jin Chae

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the medical students’ satisfaction on online flipped learning by the learning style.Methods: A total of 42 second-year medical students were participated in this study. As study tools, Felder and Soloman’s Index of Learning Styles and the Korean Educational Development Institute’s National Assessment of Student Engagement in Learning were utilized. Data analysis was conducted with the Kruskal-Wallis test, a nonparametric statistical method.Results: Results showed that there were statistically significant differences within active–reflective types and sensing–intuitive types. The active–reflective type has been shown to have statistically significant differences for the three effects of learning, such as problem solving and understanding, active participation, and self-directed learning attitudes. For sensing–intuitive type, active participation showed a significant difference from other effects of learning.Conclusion: The learning style is an important concept in understanding the diverse ways in which students process and absorb new information. Hence research is needed to conduct successful small group activities through online. In the future, it is necessary to find the factors that can lead to successful online classes in medical schools.


Author(s):  
Meenakshi Sinha ◽  
Jayshri Ghate ◽  
Dipali K. Chatur ◽  
Ramanjan Sinha

<p><strong> </strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Several studies have indicated gender differences in performance of undergraduate students in medical curriculum mainly in the clinical specialties which requires different set of skills as compared to pre and paraclinical subjects. Therefore, the study aim to investigate gender difference if any, on overall performance as well as on  different modalities of assessment like multiple choice questions (MCQ) and structured long &amp; short answer questions (LSQ) of medical students in physiology.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> Performance of 238 first year MBBS students in overall theory (MCQ+LSQ) and separately in MCQ and LSQ were compared between male (n=139) &amp; female (n=99). Further, they were sub-grouped on the basis of total marks in theory as low (&lt;50%), medium (50-65%) and high achievers (&gt;65%).  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Female students scored significantly more compared to male students in total (60.8±7.42% vs 56.81±8.78%) as well as individually in MCQ &amp; LSQ. Also, overall failure rate was more for male (19%) as compared to female (7%). However, comparison of high achiever group revealed no significant difference in performance of both genders in all modalities of assessments. Whereas, female students of both medium and low achiever groups had significantly high scores in LSQ as compared to male, but no such difference was observed for MCQ.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Average and below average female students performed better relative to their male counterparts in subjective assessment (LSQ) as compared to assessment demanding more analytical/critical thinking (MCQ). However, performance of high achievers did not show any such gender difference. Therefore, different types of assessments bring out different abilities of students across genders depending on their grade of performance in a medical curriculum. </p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Beedham ◽  
Kasun Wanigasooriya ◽  
Georgia R Layton ◽  
Ley Tiang Chan ◽  
Adnan Darr ◽  
...  

Background: Starting work as a junior doctor can be daunting for any medical student. There are numerous aspects of the hidden or informal curriculum which many students fail to acquire during their training. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel foundation year one (FY1) doctor preparation course focusing on certain core topics, practical tips and components of the hidden curriculum. The primary objective was to improve the confidence level and knowledge of final year medical student transition to FY1 doctors. Method: A two-day, practical course titled "Preparation 2 Practice" delivering hands-on, small-group and lecture-based teaching, covering core medical student undergraduate curriculum topics in medicine and surgery. The course content spanned therapeutics, documentation skills and managing acute clinical tasks encountered by FY1 doctors during an on-call shift. A pre- and post-course survey and knowledge assessment were carried out to assess the effectiveness of the course. The assessment was MCQ-based, derived from topics covered within our course. The 20-question test and a short survey were administered electronically. Results: Twenty students from a single UK medical school attended the course. 100% participation was observed in the pre- and post-course test and survey. The median post-course test result was 22 (IQR 20.25-23.75) which was higher than the median pre course test score of 18.75 (IQR 17-21.75). A Wilcoxon sign rank test revealed a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-course test results (p=0.0003). The self-reported confidence score of delegates on starting work as a junior doctor was also significantly higher following the course (p=0.004). Conclusion: The results show a significant improvement in perceived confidence and knowledge on core curriculum topics amongst final year medical students having attended our FY1 doctor preparation course. We conclude that there is scope for similar supplementary courses as an adjunct to the undergraduate medical curriculum.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 07-10
Author(s):  
Khalil-Ur -Rehman ◽  
Rizwan Faisal ◽  
Rizwan Qaisar ◽  
Mian Mujahid Shah

Introduction: A rigorous characterization of the impact of residential status of medical students (hostelites vs. day scholars) on the particulars of their academic performance has been lacking in Pakistan. Objective: To determine the relation of residential status of third year MBBS students to their academic performance in Forensic Medicine based on comparison of their pre-professional and professional examinations results during 2019. Materials & Methods: A comparative study was conducted from August to October 2019 on the examination performance of third year MBBS students of Rehman Medical College, Peshawar in the subject of Forensic Medicine. The results of theory and viva pre-professional and professional examinations were compared and categorized by residential status of students (Hostelites or Day Scholars). Students were categorized into groups according to their academic performance. Descriptive and Comparative data analysis was performed by SPSS 22.0, keeping p≤0.05 as significant. Results: No significant difference was found in the mean marks of hostelites and day scholars in pre-professional and professional examinations. The trend of significant improvement from pre-professional to professional examinations was similar in both groups, and it applied to both the theory and viva examinations. A significant correlation existed between the performance in two examinations among all students with no difference between the hostelites and day scholars. Conclusion: Residential status of MBBS students had no effect on their academic performance in the subject of Forensic Medicine. Keywords: Academic performance, Forensic Medicine, hostelites, day scholars


2020 ◽  
Vol 97 (1143) ◽  
pp. 10-15
Author(s):  
Chun Ka Wong ◽  
JoJo Hai ◽  
Kwong Yue Eric Chan ◽  
Ka Chun Un ◽  
Mi Zhou ◽  
...  

BackgroundLittle is known about the impact of the provision of handheld point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) devices on physical examination skills of medical students.MethodsWe describe an educational initiative that comprised a POCUS workshop followed by allocation of a POCUS device to medical students for use over the subsequent 8 weeks. They were encouraged to scan patients and correlate their physical examination findings. A mobile instant messaging group discussion platform was set to provide feedback from instructors. Physical examination skills were assessed by means of clinical examination.Results210 final-year medical students from the University of Hong Kong participated in the programme. 46.3% completed the end of programme electronic survey: 74.6% enjoyed using the POCUS device, 50.0% found POCUS useful to validate physical examination findings and 47.7% agreed that POCUS increased their confidence with physical examination. 93.9% agreed that the programme should be incorporated into the medical curriculum and 81.9% would prefer keeping the device for longer time from 16 weeks (45.6%) to over 49 weeks (35.3%). Medical students who participated in the POCUS programme had a higher mean score for abdominal examination compared with those from the previous academic year with no POCUS programme (3.65±0.52 vs 3.21±0.80, p=0.014), but there was no statistically significant difference in their mean score for cardiovascular examination (3.62±0.64 vs 3.36±0.93, p=0.203).ConclusionThe POCUS programme that included provision of a personal handheld POCUS device improved students’ attitude, confidence and ability to perform a physical examination.


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