Evaluation of problem-based learning innovation in medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study among medical students (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meiling Chen ◽  
Siyi Wang ◽  
Babatunde Akinwunmi ◽  
Wai-Kit Ming

BACKGROUND Most educators affected by the COVID-19 epidemic have had to find the most appropriate teaching approach to deal with this emergency teaching situation, i.e., an approach that can make good use of various teaching resources to achieve high adaptability. According to the characteristics of medical students and the course content of clinical clerkship, we adopted the problem-based learning (PBL) method to redesign the pedagogy of clerkship. At the end of the semester, the feasibility of the PBL teaching model in emergency remote teaching (ERT), which has an impact on students' learning experience and preference, was evaluated. Compared with other countries affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, the outbreak time and recovery time in China are both earlier; thus, the evaluation and feedback of ERT can provide the referential evidence to global educators and institutions. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to explore medical students' learning experience in ERT to understand how these positive and negative perceptions influence their learning preferences in different teaching modes and how the PBL model combined digital technology to influence teaching quality. METHODS Among 123 medical students from Jinan University, China, who participated in the questionnaire at the end of the ERT in the clinical clerkship course, 25 volunteered to have a further in-depth interview. We randomly select five veterinary students to participate in the one-on-one in-depth online interview, which was conducted within 30 minutes. After coding of the transcription by the NVivo 12.0 software, the collected qualitative data would undergo a thematic analysis. RESULTS The thematic analysis indicated two main themes. One is that the adoption of PBL is the crucial for overseas medical students to evaluate ERT positively, and is depicted by one sub-theme: positive comment contributions. The other theme is that clinical practice as the core of medical education has a decisive influence on the teaching mode preference of medical students, as depicted by two sub-themes: negative comment contributions; and preference in different teaching methods. CONCLUSIONS Although medical students preferred an offline teaching mode due to practical requirements, they generally gave positive comments on this ERT because of the PBL method pedagogy. This indicated the feasibility of the online PBL teaching method in medical education. Moreover, medical students' preferences in the combination of the online and offline teaching mode revealed a revolutionary new direction of revolution in medical education.

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. bjgp18X697229
Author(s):  
Matthew Webb ◽  
Sarah Thirlwall ◽  
Bob McKinley

BackgroundInformed consent is required for active participation of patients in medical education. At Keele Medical School, we require practices to advertise that they teach undergraduate students and to obtain appropriate patient consent at various stages of the patient journey.AimThe study aimed to explore patients’ experience of consent to involvement in undergraduate medical education in general practice.MethodDuring the final year at Keele University Medical School, students undertake a patient satisfaction survey. A questionnaire was attached to the reverse of this survey during the academic year 2016–2017. The questionnaire explored the stage of the patient journey consent was obtained, whether they were offered an alternative appointment and how comfortable they were with medical students being involved in their care.ResultsA total of 489 questionnaires were completed covering 62 GP practices. 97% of patients reported that consent was obtained at least once during their encounter and the majority reported that this occurred at booking. 98% of patients were comfortable or very comfortable with a medical student leading their consultation. However, 28% of those surveyed stated that they were either not given the option of not seeing the student or there was no other alternative appointment available.ConclusionThe results indicate that in the vast majority of cases patient consent is obtained at least once during their attendance. Patients expressed a high level of satisfaction with medical students’ involvement in their care. Further work is required to evaluate the role of the data as a marker of individual practice teaching quality.


Author(s):  
Wajiha Shadab ◽  
Amna Ahmed Noor ◽  
Saira Waqqar ◽  
Gul Muhammad Shaikh

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to assess the medical students’ opinions and views on undertaking SLICE as a formative assessment. Methods: This was a qualitative, exploratory study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select final year medical students who have undertaken a formative assessment through SLICE in their clerkship rotation. Total 32 students participated in this study .Four sets of focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted from medical students who had recently gone through their clinical clerkship modules for Pediatrics, General Medicine, General Surgery and Gynecology& Obstetrics. Each recorded FGD was transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted manually. Themes were identified from the transcribed data, coded and analyzed. In order to achieve adequate coding and researcher reliability, investigator triangulation was performed. The initial thematic analysis was performed by the primary investigator. Thereafter, two more investigators independently analyzed the data. Before the data was finalized, all the three investigators reached a final consensus upon the themes that had emerged, ensuring triangulation of the analyzed data. Results: A four staged thematic analysis was conducted, in which five major themes and five sub-themes emerged. The main themes being: Purpose, Learning, Timing, Relevancy and Fairness of SLICE. Conclusion: The students generally thought that SLICE was effective in enhancing their clinical skills learning and should be conducted more frequently with minor adjustments. Continuous...


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-31
Author(s):  
Fatiha Tasmin Jeenia ◽  
Afroza Hoque ◽  
Mehrunnissa Khanom ◽  
Selim Md Jahangir ◽  
Rozina Hoque ◽  
...  

Background: Bangladesh, A country with scintillating beauty of nature burdened with a dense population. Along with infectious diseases, tropical diseases are also prevalent here with a higher trend of non- communicable diseases as a result of industrialization. Practicing and prescribing as a doctor is a quite challenging profession here particularly when to deal with vast rural populations in a low resource facility. Medical education system is well developed in Bangladesh which follows traditional curriculum of teaching learning. Students are not accustomed with problem-based learning as it does not exist in curriculum. In order to confront with diverse disease pattern and overloaded population in this arduous backdrop of Bangladesh, problem- based learning can be a very effective tool for preparing medical students as an efficient, self- directed and insightful prescriber. This study was a primary step to introduce problem- based learning (PBL) to medical students of Bangladesh to evaluate the effectiveness of PBL in context of Bangladesh. Methods: Around 117 students of 4th year from 6 different medical colleges were randomly assigned for this study. Among them, half of the students attended PBL session for three days on a topic of Pharmacology and other students participated traditional lecture class. Following classes, odds ratio of performance was determined. MCQ, SAQ and total scores of assessment were compared. Comparison of scores was also done between male and female students of PBL group. Results: PBL students performed better than the LBL students. Odds ratio of their assessment performance was 252.08; with 95% confidence interval and lower range 53.89 and upper range 1179.28. The odds ratio showed strong association between PBL and student performance in Bangladesh context. Mean of total score was 30.7 ± 4.3 in PBL group and 17.2 ± 4.8 in LBL group. Total score was significantly higher (p= 0.000) in PBL group. Mean SAQ score in PBL and LBL group was 17.2 ± 2.2 and 5.3 ± 1.9 respectively which was extremely significant (p= 0.000). MCQ score mean was 13.4 ± 3.4 in PBL group versus 11.8 ± 3.7 in LBL group which was significantly higher in PBL group (p= 0.02). Among PBL group, total score and SAQ score was significantly higher in female students over male students. Conclusion: Significant findings of this study revealed PBL as an effective tool in Bangladesh context. Thereby, it is recommended from this study to take approaches for further study and initiative to incorporate PBL in curriculum as well. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.12(1) 2021: 22-31


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Liu ◽  
Qiurun Yu ◽  
Qiuqin Tang ◽  
Wei Wu

Abstract Background: WeChat and micro-courses have become important tools for improving medical education. However, most research just focused on one of them, and investigations about “WeChat + micro-courses” teaching mode were still lacking. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate medical students’ use of WeChat and micro-courses and to analyze the possibility of “WeChat + micro-courses” teaching mode.Methods: This investigation was conducted among 534 full-time undergraduates in Nanjing Medical University. A self-reported questionnaire was adopted to collect data. Data were entered and checked with EpiData 3.0 and were analyzed with STATA 13.Results: 534 participants successfully completed the questionnaires. Most students in all specialties used WeChat. More students in preventive medicine subscribed to OAs related to other majors (χ2 = 28.49, P < 0.01). In three majors, almost 80% of students spent less than 10 minutes or 10-30 minutes browsing OA articles every day. As for micro-courses, using frequency in biostatistics was significantly higher than that in preventive medicine and hygienic analysis and detection (χ2 = 16.68, P < 0.01). Plenty of students complained about the lack of interactions while learning with micro-courses.Conclusions: It was promising to apply “WeChat + micro-courses” mode in medical education.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 238212051882525
Author(s):  
Khaylen Mistry ◽  
Natasha Casie Chetty ◽  
Puran Gurung ◽  
Nick J Levell

Background: The breadth of knowledge assimilated by undergraduates is substantial. Time must be utilised to impart knowledge and skills to ensure optimal training. Dermatology comprises a large portion of work in primary care; yet UK undergraduate dermatology training is short. Digital problem-based learning (PBL) is an innovative teaching method incorporating clinical images into intense, interactive teaching sessions. Aim: To determine the efficacy of digital PBL sessions in teaching UK medical students during their dermatology module. Methods: In total, 59 second-year medical students at Norwich Medical School during their dermatology secondary care attachment completed two 2.5-h digital PBL sessions. One session was focused on lesions and the second on inflammatory diseases. During each session, students assessed 60 clinical cases each comprising an image with a brief history. In small groups, students discussed the cases, described the images, and agreed a diagnosis followed by a group discussion with the supervising clinician who provided feedback. Following each session, students completed a feedback questionnaire. Results: In total, 117 sets of feedback were received; 60% of students considered they learnt a great amount in a short time. The majority of students reported feeling more confident to make a dermatological diagnosis and more motivated in clinics as a result of the digital PBL; 64% of students found digital PBL more useful than real patient clinics. The most frequent negative comment was that 2.5 h was too long to concentrate. Conclusions: Digital PBL was a popular, effective, and efficient teaching method. Digital PBL sessions should be introduced alongside clinics and other teaching methods for undergraduates.


Author(s):  
Jocelyn Stairs ◽  
Baharak Amir ◽  
Brett Vair

Implication Statement The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in changes to clinical clerkship delivery including decreased surgical exposure. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Dalhousie University developed a novel, resident-led learning experience using a curated presentation of operative footage. This session aimed to improve medical students’ orientation to the operative environment and supplement teaching on pelvic anatomy and gynaecologic surgery in response to decreased exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical students perceived this session as valuable and felt it improved their preparedness for the operating room. This initiative has the potential to improve medical student orientation to the operative environment.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Ang Lee ◽  
Shu-Ling Wang ◽  
Yi-Ping Chao ◽  
Ming-Shao Tsai ◽  
Li-Jen Hsin ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The use of mobile technology in e-learning (M-TEL) can add new levels of experience and significantly increase the attractiveness of e-learning in medical education. Whether an innovative interactive e-learning multimedia (IM) module or a conventional PowerPoint show (PPS) module using M-TEL to teach emergent otorhinolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL-HNS) disorders is feasible and efficient in undergraduate medical students is unknown. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare the impact of a novel IM module with a conventional PPS module using M-TEL for emergent ORL-HNS disorders with regard to learning outcomes, satisfaction, and learning experience. METHODS This pilot study was conducted at an academic teaching hospital and included 24 undergraduate medical students who were novices in ORL-HNS. The cognitive style was determined using the Group Embedded Figures Test. The participants were randomly allocated (1:1) to one of the two groups matched by age, sex, and cognitive style: the IM group and the PPS group. During the 100-min learning period, the participants were unblinded to use the IM or PPS courseware on a 7-inch tablet. Pretests and posttests using multiple-choice questions to evaluate knowledge and multimedia situational tests to evaluate competence were administered. Participants evaluated their satisfaction and learning experience by the AttrakDiff2 questionnaire, and provided feedback about the modules. RESULTS Overall, the participants had significant gains in knowledge (median of percentage change 71, 95% CI 1-100, P<.001) and competence (median of percentage change 25, 95% CI 0-33, P=.007) after 100 min of learning. Although there was no significant difference in knowledge gain between the two groups (median of difference of percentage change 24, 95% CI −75 to 36; P=.55), competence gain was significantly lower in the IM group compared with the PPS group (median of difference of percentage change −41, 95% CI −67 to −20; P=.008). However, the IM group had significantly higher scores of satisfaction (difference 2, 95% CI 2-4; P=.01), pragmatic quality (difference 1.7, 95% CI 0.1-2.7; P=.03), and hedonic stimulation (difference 1.9, 95% CI 0.3-3.1; P=.01) compared with the PPS group. Qualitative feedback indicated that the various games in the IM module attracted the participants’ attention but that the nonlinearly arranged materials affected their learning. CONCLUSIONS Using M-TEL for undergraduate medical education on emergent ORL-HNS disorders, an IM module seems to be useful for gaining knowledge, but competency may need to occur elsewhere. While the small sample size reduces the statistical power of our results, its design seems to be appropriate to determine the effects of M-TEL using a larger group. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02971735; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02971735 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6waoOpCEV)


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew H V Byrne ◽  
James Ashcroft ◽  
Laith Alexander ◽  
Jonathan C M Wan ◽  
Anmol Arora ◽  
...  

Background and objectives: Covid-19 has led to global disruption of healthcare. Many students volunteered to provide clinical support. Volunteering to work in a clinical capacity was a unique medical education opportunity; however, it is unknown whether this was a positive learning experience or which volunteering roles were of most benefit to students. Methods and Design: The COVIDReady2 study is a national cross-sectional study of all medical students at UK medical schools. The primary outcome is to explore the experiences of medical students who volunteered during the pandemic in comparison to those who did not. We will compare responses to determine the educational benefit and issues they faced. In addition to quantitative analysis, thematic analysis will be used to identify themes in qualitative responses. Discussion: There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that service roles have potential to enhance medical education; yet, there is a shortage of studies able to offer practical advice for how these roles may be incorporated in future medical education. We anticipate that this study will help to identify volunteer structures that have been beneficial for students, so that similar infrastructures can be used in the future, and help inform medical education in a non-pandemic setting.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Khan ◽  
Ali Bin Abdul Jabbar ◽  
Daniyal Ali Khan ◽  
Muhammad Abdullah Javed ◽  
Mohummad Hassan Raza Raja ◽  
...  

Background: Live lectures are commonly used in medical education, yet many students prefer video lectures instead. As different learning modalities may affect knowledge, it was necessary to explore medical students' perspectives about the two learning modalities in Pakistan. Objectives: This study aimed to explore and compare the medical students' perspectives regarding live lectures and video lectures. Methods: This cross-sectional study used an online questionnaire. This was distributed to medical students via internet platforms after institutional approval. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 23 using descriptive statistics. Results: 585 students, from 11 medical colleges across six cities of Pakistan, were enrolled. 64.4% (n=377) of the students were females, while 34.0% (n=199) were males. The first years comprised 32.7% (n=191), second years, 29.2% (n=171), and third years, 38.1% (n=223) of the total. The commonest reason for attending live lectures was 'they are compulsory'. The commonest reason for not attending was 'poor teaching quality'. 5.0% (n=29) of 585 students reported live lectures and 51.8% (n=290 of 560) found video lectures to be 'very helpful' in concept clarification. 85.1% (n=258) of 303 students found video lectures more effective for learning. For 45.4% (n=254) of students, video lectures improved their grades a lot; more students used video lectures for exam preparation over the years. 50.6% (n=296) of students wanted video lectures to be compulsory, compared with 28.5% (n=167) for live lectures. The main improvement in live lectures was not using slides. Conclusion: Medical students in Pakistan prefer video lectures over live lectures for learning and exam preparation. More students wanted video lectures to be compulsory in medical education. Several improvements have been suggested for live lectures.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Luo ◽  
Jiancheng Tu ◽  
Fuling Zhou

UNSTRUCTURED Hematological medicine is a practical discipline that difficult to study. The cultivation for postgraduate majored in hematology is rather hard. Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered innovating teaching method that students define their own learning objectives from clinically based problem. It has been widely accepted in student-centered medical education. Owing to the geographic and time dispersion of the students, traditional PBL has its own limitations. WeChat, the most popular platform among university students in China, was introduced in hematology teaching. In this study, we combine traditional PBL and WeChat together to explore a new WeChat Problem-Based learning mode for postgraduate majored in hematology. 100 questionnaires were distributed to evaluate how the students and tutors think about the WeChat-PBL teaching mode. The data showed that the WeChat-PBL teaching mode was popular and widely accepted. Our new PBL mode is time saving, convenience and easy to conduct. It emphasizes interoperable, interactive, effective and more participatory. We firmly believe that using this new WeChat-PBL teaching model will certainly help students be more excellent.


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