Validation of the Palliative Competency Tool: An Instrument To Qualify Medical Education (Validation of Palliative Competency Tool)

Abstract Introduction: It is necessary to determine which competencies in Palliative Care (PC) have been acquired and which ones need to be improved. The aim was to develop and validate an instrument to assess the acquisition of competencies in PC care among medical students denominated Palliative Competency Tool (Pallicomp).Materials and methods: It were consisted of developing statements based on the competencies as described by the European Association for Palliative Care. The content was validated by experts, respecting the Delphi methodology. The instrument was applied to a group of medical students (n=71) enrolled at the final of 8th semester and statically validated.Results: Of the 30 questions developed, 24 were refined and approved by experts. The tool was applied to 71 medical students, only 12.7% had excellent performance and four out of ten competencies were underperformed. The statistical validation consisted of Bartlett's sphericity test, which showed adequate correlation for factor analysis (p <0.001); the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test for sample adequacy (0.7), and Conbach's alpha coefficient for the internal consistency (α = 0.7).Conclusions: Can be concluded that it was possible to construct and validate Palliative Competency Tool (PalliComp), an instrument of qualification of competencies acquisition of PC.

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11 Filling the void: preparing future junior doctors for challenging conversations

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care ◽

10.1136/bmjspcare-2018-mariecurie.11 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 363.3-364

Author(s):

Hannah Costelloe ◽

Alice Copley ◽

Andrew Greenhalgh ◽

Andrew Foster ◽

Pratik Solanki

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Small Group ◽

End Of Life ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Skills Training ◽

Junior Doctors ◽

List Type ◽

The Impact

Evidence demonstrates that medical students have limited experience in developing ‘higher-order communication skills’ (Kaufman et al. 2000). Anecdotally many do not feel confident in their ability to conduct difficult conversations often due to a lack of exposure to such scenarios in practice or a pervasive notion that these scenarios are inappropriate for students and beyond the scope of a junior doctor’s role and thus not a focus of curriculums (Noble et al. 2007). There is however a correlation between level of clinical experience and improved confidence for medical students (Morgan and Cleave-Hogg 2002).We surveyed a group of final year medical students to assess their confidence using a 10-point Likert scale in tackling common palliative and end of life care scenarios. Our intervention comprised a study day of 10 practical small-group teaching simulation and OSCE-style stations designed to provide exposure to common experiences in a controlled setting. We reassessed the confidence of students after delivery and objectively explored the impact of the day by asking participants to complete a validated assessment before and after the course. All results showed significant improvement on t-testing: confidence in end of life communication in an OSCE setting improved by 42.2% and assessment marks improved by 24.7% (p=0.039).Palliative care is an area in which students approaching the end of undergraduate training feel underprepared. Our findings demonstrate that small group sessions improve confidence by facilitating communication practice in a controlled environment and providing crucial exposure to common palliative care scenarios they will face as doctors.References. Kaufman D, Laidlaw T, Macleod H. Communication skills in medical school: Exposure confidence and performance. Academic Medicine [online] 2000;75(10):S90–S92. Available at https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Fulltext/2000/10001/Communication_Skills_in_Medical_School__Exposure.29.aspx [Accessed: 30 May 2018]. Morgan P, Cleave-Hogg D. Comparison between medical students’ experience confidence and competence. Medical Education [online] 2002;36(6):534–539. Available at https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2923.2002.01228.x [Accessed: 30 May 2018]. Noble L, Kubacki A, Martin J, Lloyd M. The effect of professional skills training on patient-centredness and confidence in communicating with patients. Medical Education [online] 2007;41(5):432–440. Available at https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2007.02704.x [Accessed: 30 May 2018]

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Development of an Instrument to Measure Medical Students' Attitudes Toward People with Disabilities

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ◽

10.1352/1934-9556-50.3.251 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 251-260 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Andrew B. Symons ◽

Reva Fish ◽

Denise McGuigan ◽

Jeffery Fox ◽

Elie A. Akl

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Medical Students ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Internal Consistency ◽

Clinical Setting ◽

People With Disabilities ◽

Internal Consistency Reliability ◽

Alpha Coefficient ◽

Good Internal Consistency ◽

Students Attitudes

Abstract As curricula to improve medical students' attitudes toward people with disabilities are developed, instruments are needed to guide the process and evaluate effectiveness. The authors developed an instrument to measure medical students' attitudes toward people with disabilities. A pilot instrument with 30 items in four sections was administered to 342 medical students. Internal consistency reliability and factor analysis were conducted. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.857, indicating very good internal consistency. Five components were identified: comfort interacting with people with disabilities, working with people with disabilities in a clinical setting, negative impressions of self-concepts of people with disabilities, positive impressions of self-concepts of people with disabilities, and conditional comfort with people with disabilities. The instrument appears to have good psychometric properties and requires further validation.

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A Model for an Educational Virtual Ward Round

10.21203/rs.3.rs-971273/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Pauline Bowers ◽

Philip J Dickson ◽

Katharine Thompson

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

Ward Round ◽

Clinical Placements ◽

Care Teaching ◽

Use Of Technology ◽

Ward Rounds ◽

Survey Responses

Abstract Background COVID-19 led to global disruption of both healthcare delivery and undergraduate medical education with suspension of clinical placements in alignment with government and university guidelines. To facilitate ongoing palliative care education, we aimed to develop a model for delivering virtual palliative care teaching and to assess the suitability of this as an alternative to in-person teaching. Method Basic technology (iPad and linked computer) were used to facilitate video conferencing, via the secure platform Microsoft Teams, between a consultant-led ward round in a specialist palliative care unit and fourth year medical students located in the education department of the unit. This was evaluated using electronic survey responses from patients, medical students and medical staff with generation of quantitative and qualitative data.Results Medical students greatly appreciated the opportunity to maintain attendance at clinical sessions during COVID-19. Quantitative and qualitative feedback demonstrated that the virtual ward round model effectively met medical students’ educational needs, particularly in relation to holistic assessment, pain management and communication skills. Only minor technological difficulties were noted. Feedback indicated that the use of technology to allow medical education was acceptable to patients, who were open and willing to adapt. Patients acknowledged that without medical students’ physical presence on ward rounds, there was an element of discretion; clinicians also found this to be beneficial. Conclusion COVID-19 has forced changes in the delivery of medical education. Virtual ward rounds are an effective method for delivering high quality palliative care teaching and are acceptable to patients, medical students and clinicians alike. Additional benefits beyond COVID-19 included allowing students to be present discretely during sensitive conversations whilst still meeting their learning outcomes.

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Development and validation of an instrument to evaluate medical students' lifestyle

Medwave ◽

10.5867/medwave.2021.07.8434 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (07) ◽

pp. e8434-e8434

Author(s):

Jhony de la Cruz Vargas ◽

Daniel Orejón ◽

Luis Roldan ◽

Lucy Correa-López ◽

Alonso Soto

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Medical Students ◽

Construct Validity ◽

Health Science ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Cronbach’S Alpha ◽

Cronbach's Alpha ◽

Sphericity Test ◽

Final Questionnaire ◽

The Impact

Introduction It is required to have validated instruments in health science students that identify unhealthy habits and assess the impact of educational interventions and programs aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle. Objective To evaluate the validity and reliability of an instrument to measure medical students' lifestyles. Methods A lifestyle questionnaire was developed using the Delphi technique by a group of experts. The final questionnaire was applied to 332 students of the School of Medicine of the Ricardo Palma University in 2017. A preliminary examination was carried out to assess preconditions for construct validity—including the correlation matrix, the Kaiser Meyer Olkin statistic, and the Bartlett sphericity test. Factor analysis was used for construct validity, and the possible resulting factors were extracted through the principal component analysis. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated to assess the instrument reliability. Results In this study, 41.6% of participants were men with a mean age of 20 years (standard deviation = 3). The preconditions for the factor analysis were a Kaiser Meyer Olkin coefficient = 0.773 and a significant Bartlett sphericity test. For the 47 items of the final questionnaire, the factor analysis showed an explained variance of 56.7% with eigenvalues greater than one. Cronbach's alpha was 0.78. The final questionnaire could assume values between -23 to 151 points. Based on a cut point of 71 points, the prevalence of students with an unhealthy lifestyle was 73.6%. Conclusion The developed instrument has acceptable validity and reliability to measure lifestyle in medical students. For external validation, studies in other university populations are suggested.

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Respecting patient choices: using the ’Go Wish' cards as a teaching tool

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care ◽

10.1136/bmjspcare-2017-001342 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 194-197 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hibah Osman ◽

Katia El Jurdi ◽

Ramzi Sabra ◽

Thalia Arawi

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

End Of Life ◽

Thematic Analysis ◽

Death And Dying ◽

Teaching Tool ◽

Student Reflection ◽

Second Year ◽

Self Discovery

BackgroundIndividuals have different values and priorities that can have an important impact on their medical management. Understanding this concept can help physicians provide medical care that is in line with the goals of their patients. Communicating this message effectively to students is challenging.ObjectiveTo report our experience with using Go Wish cards in the medical education setting.DesignA thematic analysis of student reflection papers using grounded theory.Setting/SubjectsSecond-year medical students participated in an activity using the Go Wish cards as part of a course module on palliative care. The activity aimed to encourage students to reflect on their own choices at the end of life and to highlight that different people have different priorities.ResultsForty-two students (42%) mentioned the Go Wish activity in their reflections on the module. They reported that the activity demonstrated the different priorities at the end of life, it illustrated the importance of providing personalised care, it promoted self-discovery, it transformed their view of death and dying, and it increased their appreciation of the importance of palliative care.ConclusionGo Wish cards can be used to help illustrate the variability in priorities of patients. They can be used as an effective to teach medical students about the importance of considering patient preferences when illness progresses.

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Student’s Inventory of Professionalism (SIP): A Tool to Assess Attitudes towards Professional Development Based on Palliative Care Undergraduate Education

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16244925 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (24) ◽

pp. 4925 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Antonio Noguera ◽

María Arantzamendi ◽

Jesús López-Fidalgo ◽

Alfredo Gea ◽

Alberto Acitores ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Palliative Care ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Medical Students ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽

Personal Growth ◽

Goodness Of Fit ◽

Self Report ◽

Care Teaching ◽

Confirmatory Factor

Introduction: Quality medical education, centered on a patient’s needs, is crucial to develop the health professionals that our society requires. Research suggests a strong contribution of palliative care education to professionalism. The aim of this study was to design and validate a self-report inventory to measure student’s professional development. Method: Sequential exploratory strategy mixed method. The inventory is built based on the themes that emerged from the analysis of four qualitative studies about nursing and medical students’ perceptions related to palliative care teaching interventions (see Ballesteros et al. 2014, Centeno et al. 2014 and 2017, Rojí et al. 2017). The structure and psychometrics of the inventory obtained is tested in two different surveys with two different groups of medical students. Inventory reliability and construct validity are tested in the first survey group. To verify the inventory structure, a confirmatory factor analysis is performed in a second survey group. Results: The inventory has 33 items and seven dimensions: a holistic approach, caring for and understanding the patient, personal growth, teamwork, decision-making, patient evaluation, and being a health care professional. Cronbach’s-alpha was 0.73–0.84 in all seven domains, ICC: 0.95. The confirmatory factor analysis comparative fit index (CFI) was 1 with a standardized root mean square Index 0.088 (SRMR) and obtained a 0.99 goodness-of-fit R-square coefficient. Conclusions: this new inventory is grounded on student’s palliative care teaching experiences and seems to be valid to assess student’s professional development.

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Refining the Frommelt Attitude Toward the Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD–B) for medical students: A confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch validation study

Palliative & Supportive Care ◽

10.1017/s147895151700030x ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 50-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Barbara Loera ◽

Giorgia Molinengo ◽

Marco Miniotti ◽

Paolo Leombruni

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Medical Students ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽

Dimensional Structure ◽

Measurement Tool ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Number Of Patients ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Care Of The Dying

ABSTRACTObjective:Given the increasing number of patients requiring palliative care and the need for more professionals who are able to provide care for the dying comfortably, assessment of medical attitudes toward end-of-life care is becoming a key aspect of medical education. The present study aimed to establish whether the Frommelt Attitude Toward the Care Of the Dying, Form B (FATCOD–B) meets current psychometric standards of validity for an assessment tool in medical education.Method:The participants were 200 undergraduate medical students. Since in a previous study the FATCOD–B was found to have a weak structure due to poor item validity, a refined version was proposed and tested in the present study. Confirmatory factor analysis and the Rasch model were employed to assess its dimensionality and psychometric properties.Results:The construct measured by the FATCOD–B continues to be misspecified. The tool has a two-dimensional structure. The first is well-structured and demonstrates appreciable measurement and discriminant capabilities. The second has low validity because its measurement capabilities are based on weakly correlated items.Significance of results:Our results suggest that the FATCOD–B measures a two-dimensional construct and that only its first dimension is a robust measurement tool for use in medical education to evaluate undergraduates' attitudes about caring for the dying.

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Adaptation and validation of a scale to evaluate the quality of virtual courses developed for medical students in Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic

10.1101/2022.01.08.22268928 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Claudio Intimayta-Escalante ◽

Rubi Plasencia-Duenas ◽

Kevin Alexis Flores-Lovon ◽

Janeth N. Nunez-Lupaca ◽

Mario Chavez-Hermosilla ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Internal Consistency ◽

Human Medicine ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Alpha Coefficient ◽

Virtual Courses ◽

Five Factors ◽

Bartlett Test

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical education migrated to digital environments, without clear guidelines for virtual courses or evaluations of how these courses have been developed. Objective: To adapt and validate a scale to evaluate the quality of virtual courses developed for human medicine students in Peru. Methods: Cross-sectional study that adapted a scale to assess the quality of virtual courses to the context of Peruvian medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic, using the Delphi methodology and pilot tests for a rigorous evaluation of the items, resulting in a scale of 30 items that were described with summary statistics. In addition to the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with Oblimin rotation, together with the adequacy and sample fit with Bartlett test and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO), while the internal consistency was estimated with the alpha coefficient. Results: A total of 297 medical students in Peru were surveyed. The descriptive statistics for the items showed a normal distribution, while the Bartlett test showed no inadequacy (X2=6134.34, p<0.01) and with the KMO test an overall value greater than 0.92 was found, therefore an AFE was performed where five factors were identified (General Quality and Didactic Methodology, Design and Navigation of the Virtual Platform, Multimedia Resources, Academic Materials) with 30 items. In the internal consistency, an alpha coefficient greater than 0.85 was estimated for the factors evaluated. Conclusions: The adapted scale of 30 items grouped into five factors or domains, show adequate evidence of validity and reliability to be used in the evaluation of the quality of virtual courses developed for Peruvian human medicine students during the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: Education, Medical; Education, Distance; Validation; Surveys and Questionnaires; COVID-19.

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