scholarly journals Progress Testing for Medical Students at the University of Auckland: Results from the First Year of Assessments

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. JMECD.S20094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Lillis ◽  
Jill Yielder ◽  
Vernon Mogol ◽  
Barbara O'Connor ◽  
Kira Bacal ◽  
...  

Background Progress testing is a method of assessing longitudinal progress of students using a single best answer format pitched at the standard of a newly graduated doctor. Aim To evaluate the results of the first year of summative progress testing at the University of Auckland for Years 2 and 4 in 2013. SUBJECTS: Two cohorts of medical students from Years 2 and 4 of the Medical Program. Methods A survey was administered to all involved students. Open text feedback was also sought. Psychometric data were collected on test performance, and indices of reliability and validity were calculated. Results The three tests showed increased mean scores over time. Reliability of the assessments was uniformly high. There was good concurrent validity. Students believe that progress testing assists in integrating science with clinical knowledge and improve learning. Year 4 students reported improved knowledge retention and deeper understanding. Conclusion Progress testing has been successfully introduced into the Faculty for two separate year cohorts and results have met expectations. Other year cohorts will be added incrementally. Recommendation Key success factors for introducing progress testing are partnership with an experienced university, multiple and iterative briefings with staff and students as well as demonstrating the usefulness of progress testing by providing students with detailed feedback on performance.

2003 ◽  
Vol 99 (6) ◽  
pp. 1270-1280 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Boulet ◽  
David Murray ◽  
Joe Kras ◽  
Julie Woodhouse ◽  
John McAllister ◽  
...  

Background Medical students and residents are expected to be able to manage a variety of critical events after training, but many of these individuals have limited clinical experiences in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions. Life-sized mannequins that model critical events can be used to evaluate the skills required to manage and treat acute medical conditions. The purpose of this study was to develop and test simulation exercises and associated scoring methods that could be used to evaluate the acute care skills of final-year medical students and first-year residents. Methods The authors developed and tested 10 simulated acute care situations that clinical faculty at a major medical school expects graduating physicians to be able to recognize and treat at the conclusion of training. Forty medical students and residents participated in the evaluation of the exercises. Four faculty members scored the students/residents. Results The reliability of the simulation scores was moderate and was most strongly influenced by the choice and number of simulated encounters. The validity of the simulation scores was supported through comparisons of students'/residents' performances in relation to their clinical backgrounds and experience. Conclusion Acute care skills can be validly and reliably measured using a simulation technology. However, multiple simulated encounters, covering a broad domain, are needed to effectively and accurately estimate student/resident abilities in acute care settings.


Author(s):  
Gustavo Salata Romão ◽  
Reinaldo Bulgarelli Bestetti ◽  
Lucélio Bernardes Couto

Abstract: Introduction: Problem-based learning (PBL) is a collaborative student-centered learning method for small groups, based on the mobilization of previous knowledge and on critical reasoning for problem solving. Although it has been used predominantly in the classroom, when applied in clinical studies, PBL can increase the intrinsic motivation and long-term knowledge retention. In addition, Clinical PBL represents a more effective option to learn from practice considering the students’ overload in clinical clerkships in the Unified Health System (UHS). This study aimed to assess the students’ perception of a Clinical PBL model implemented in Primary Health Care (PHC) clerkships during the first four years of the Medical Course at the University of Ribeirão Preto (UNAERP) in 2017. Method: The primary outcome was assessed by the DREEM (Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure) tool, which contains 50 items distributed in five dimensions. The questionnaire was applied to 374 medical students, corresponding to 78% of the total number of medical students from the first to the fourth year. Results: For most of the evaluated items, the students’ perceptions were “positive”, including the dimensions “Perception of Teachers”, “Perception of Academic Results” and “Perception of the General Environment”. For the dimensions “Perception of Learning” and “Perception of Social Relationships” the evaluation was “more positive than negative”. The DREEM total score was 124.31, corresponding to 62.15% of the maximum score, which indicates a perception that is “more positive than negative” regarding the Clinical PBL. The internal consistency given by Cronbach’s alpha was 0.92. Conclusion: The use of Clinical PBL in PHC qualifies learning from practice, is well accepted by medical students and offers a useful option to the students’ overload in the clinical clerkship during the first four years of the Medical School.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Tavares ◽  
Sylvia Enns ◽  
José Ricardo Ayres ◽  
Patricia Tempski

Abstract Purpose To analyze the meaning of humanization by first-year medical students as well as to find out about their role models and what were their personal experiences of humanization and dehumanization before entering medical school. Methods The authors performed a qualitative study using narratives of first-year medical students. The data were analyzed through content analysis. The narratives were used as a strategy to stimulate students' reflection and to understand their perspectives and values at the beginning of the medical program. Results The study included 167 participants: 67 females (40.1%) and 100 males (59.9%). The participants' ages ranged from 16 to 38 years. The analysis of the narratives showed three main themes: socio-political and economic aspects of medicine, humanization of healthcare, and dimensions of humanization and dehumanization. In their narratives, the students expressed the desire to become doctors, to help and improve people's lives, and the intention to emulate good role models. Another desire was to contribute to the development of the Brazilian healthcare system. The students considered the humanization of healthcare as an integral vision of the human being that includes perceiving the context and personal history, as well as the complexity, of the human being. The students emphasized the importance of "going beyond the technical dimension" in the relationship between physician and his/her patient. Some students recognized the transdisciplinary aspect of medicine. Conclusions The students in the first-year of the medical program have a clear understanding of the meaning of humanization in medical practice, regardless of their social and economic conditions, age, sex, and religion. The students' narratives expressed their expectations for a more humane society with respect, solidarity, and compassion. The use of narrative is a strategy to develop critical thinking and to better get to know our students: who they are, what they think, and how they feel.


PRiMER ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
James G. Boulger ◽  
Emily Onello

Cessation of all classroom and clinical activities in the spring of 2020 for first- and second-year medical students at the University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth campus both forced and enabled revision of rural medicine instruction and experiences. Creatively utilizing rural family physicians and third-year rural physician associate medical students to interact with first-year students virtually in a number of areas and using electronic connectivity enabled the institution to continue to emphasize rural medical health issues with the students.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. JMECD.S20080
Author(s):  
Lindsey Harbour ◽  
Cayley Ingham ◽  
Stephen Streat ◽  
Warwick Bagg

Aims • To explore organ donation and transplantation knowledge and attitudes among medical students at the University of Auckland. • To understand students' perception of the extent of training received prior to and during the medical program. Method A validated web-based questionnaire consisting of 42 questions in five categories was anonymously administered to all enrolled medical students at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, in September 2012. Results In all, 419 out of 989 (42%) Year 2–6 students responded. A total of 99.3% of medical students supported organ donation, but knowledge was limited (mean score 7.54/15±2.26). A total of 38% of students reported having participated in organ donation learning. A total of 96% of students believed that organ donation information should be available in primary care settings. A total of 69% of students reported that if a patient asked a question about organ donation that they did not know the answer to, they also would not know where to source the correct information from. Conclusion This study demonstrates that although medical students support organ donation, they lack the knowledge required to facilitate informative discussions with patients. Enhanced organ donation education in medical programs may enable students to develop skills and knowledge allowing them to better discuss donation with patients.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neel Mistry ◽  
Stefan de Laplante ◽  
Craig Murray Campbell

Abstract Background: The transition from pre-clerkship to clinical clerkship is a pivotal moment for medical students. At the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, Unit IV and the Link Block are designed to facilitate this transition. Improvements to the current curriculum, specifically in Unit IV, may better prepare students for clerkship. We aimed to summarize existing literary evidence on the transition to clerkship and collect student feedback to generate recommendations for success with regard to clerkship preparedness at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. Methods: We conducted a literature search using PubMed, MEDLINE, ERIC, and CINAHL for studies evaluating the transition to clerkship in a four-year medical program. Using this data, we created two different versions of our survey (pre-transition and post-transition) for dissemination to second, third, and fourth-year medical students, plus MD/PhD students, in the Anglophone and Francophone stream. The survey was open for three weeks from October 10 to October 31, 2020, with weekly reminders to all eligible participants. Microsoft Excel 2016 was used for data analysis. Results: We obtained 176 respondents, of which 158 (70% Anglophone and 30% Francophone) were included in the analysis. The majority of students were in the MD2023 cohort (40%) and had completed a 4-year Bachelor’s degree (61%) prior to medical school. Students in the post-transition group were less anxious about the transition to clerkship than their junior colleagues, although differences between streams were marginal. The most notable difference concerning Entrustable Professional Activities was in terms of obtaining a complete history and performing a physical examination, with the post-transition cohort reporting increased competency compared to the pre-transition cohort in the Anglophone stream (2.9/5.0 pre-transition vs. 3.3/5.0 post-transition, +0.33 difference, p<0.05). Top two stressors for incoming clerks were a lack of clinical skills or experience, and lack of clarity around clerkship roles, responsibilities, and expectations.Conclusion: There is limited training to facilitate a seamless transition for incoming clerks at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. Changes can be made at the pre-clerkship level in the form of small-group orientation sessions, formative OSCEs, accelerated review of pre-clerkship material, and clerkship simulation sessions.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. e89-e95
Author(s):  
Jean-Francois Lemay ◽  
Tyrone Donnon ◽  
Bernard Charlin

Background: The Script Concordance (SC) approach was used as an alternative test format to measure the presence of knowledge organization reflective in one’s clinical reasoning skills (i.e., diagnostic, investigation and treatment knowledge).Methods:  The present study investigated the reliability and validity of a 40-item paediatric version of the SC test with three groups representing 53 medical students (novices), 42 paediatric residents (intermediates) and 11 paediatricians (experts).Results:  A comparison between scoring techniques based on experts’ ratings of the items showed internal reliability coefficients from .74 for the one-best answer up to .78 for alternative scoring techniques.  An ANOVA showed an increase in test performance from medical students through to expert paediatricians (F(2,103) = 84.05, p < .001), but did not differentiate between the postgraduate year 1 to 3 paediatric residents.  A large effect size (Cohen’s d) difference of 1.06 was found between medical students and residents total SC test scores.Conclusions:  These results support other findings indicating the SC test format can be used to differentiate between the clinical reasoning skills of novices, intermediates and experts in paediatrics.  An alternative scoring method that includes one best answer and partial marks was also supported for grading SC test items.


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