scholarly journals What are the key leadership competencies required by medical school deans in Uganda? A qualitative cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1950-9
Author(s):  
Patrick Kyamanywa ◽  
Peter Redding
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Effective Leadership ◽  
Organizational Management ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Leadership Competencies ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Management Competencies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Key Leadership Competencies

Background: Effective leadership is vital for organizational growth and sustainability. Globally, medical schools are faced with leadership challenges due to the pace of globalization, technological advances, reduced funding and changed funding cycles, increasing student enrolment, demands of accreditation, academic collaboration, innovations and research. This makes identification and selection for the right leadership competencies a priority.Objectives: To investigate the key leadership competencies required by deans of medical schools in Uganda.Method: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with the current deans and purposively selected former deans of medical schools in Uganda was conducted between March and June, 2020. We analysed the data using Grounded theory.Results: Thirteen (13) deans (9 of the 12 current deans and 4 former deans) participated in the study. We established ten (10) key roles of a dean of a medical school categorised as academic leadership, administrative leadership and professional leadership. Eleven (11) key competencies were identified as necessary for effective leadership of medical schools in Uganda, and categorized as personality-related competencies, organizational management competencies and medical/health expertise.Conclusions: A dean of a medical school in Uganda should possess a combination of personality, medical expertise, health professions training and organizational management competencies and have training in leadership, financial and resources management. Keywords: Competencies; effective leadership; medical schools; Dean.

scholarly journals Quantity and quality of conflict of interest policies at German medical schools: a cross-sectional study and survey

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e039782
Author(s):  
Peter Grabitz ◽  
Zoe Friedmann ◽  
Sophie Gepp ◽  
Leonard Hess ◽  
Lisa Specht ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Maximum Score ◽  
Teaching Activities

ObjectivesTo assess the quantity and evaluate the quality of policies and curricula focusing on conflicts of interests (COI) at medical schools across Germany.DesignCross-sectional study, survey of medical schools, standardised web search.SettingMedical schools, Germany.Participants38 German medical schools.InterventionsWe collected relevant COI policies, including teaching activities, by conducting a search of the websites of all 38 German medical schools using standardised keywords for COI policies and teaching. Further, we surveyed all medical schools’ dean’s offices. Finally, we adapted a scoring system for results we obtained with 13 categories based on prior similar studies.Main outcomes and measuresPresence or absence of COI-related policies, including teaching activities at medical school. The secondary outcome was the achieved score on a scale from 0 to 26, with high scores representing restrictive policies and sufficient teaching activities.ResultsWe identified relevant policies for one medical school via the web search. The response rate of the deans’ survey was 16 of 38 (42.1%). In total, we identified COI-related policies for 2 of 38 (5.3%) German medical schools, yet no policy was sufficient to address all COI-related categories that were assessed in this study. The maximum score achieved was 12 of 26. 36 (94.7%) schools scored 0. No medical school reported curricular teaching on COI.ConclusionsOur results indicate a low level of action by medical schools to protect students from undue commercial influence. No participating dean was aware of any curriculum or instruction on COI at the respective school and only two schools had policies in place. The German Medical Students Association and international counterparts have called for a stronger focus on COI in the classroom. We conclude that for German medical schools, there is still a long way to go.

scholarly journals Variation in Performance on Common Content Items at UK Medical Schools

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hope ◽  
David Kluth ◽  
Matthew Homer ◽  
Avril Dewar ◽  
Richard Fuller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Standard Setting ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Pass Rates ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Common Content ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Due to the diverse approaches to medical school assessment, making meaningful cross-school comparisons on knowledge is difficult. Ahead of the introduction of national licensing assessment in the UK, we evaluate schools on “common content” to compare candidates at different schools and evaluate whether they would pass under different standard setting regimes. Such information can then help develop a cross-school consensus on standard setting shared content. Methods We undertook a cross-sectional study in the academic sessions 2016-17 and 2017-18. Sixty “best of five” multiple choice items were delivered each year, with five used in both years. In 2016-17 30 (of 31 eligible) medical schools undertook a mean of 52.6 items with 7,177 participants. In 2017-18 the same 30 medical schools undertook a mean of 52.8 items with 7,165 participants for a full sample of 14,342 medical students sitting common content prior to graduation. Using mean scores, we compared performance across items and carried out a “like-for-like” comparison of schools who used the same set of items then modelled the impact of different passing standards on these schools. Results Schools varied substantially on candidate total score. Schools differed in their performance with large (Cohen’s d around 1) effects. A passing standard that would see 5% of candidates at high scoring schools fail left low-scoring schools with fail rates of up to 40%, whereas a passing standard that would see 5% of candidates at low scoring schools fail would see virtually no candidates from high scoring schools fail. Conclusions Candidates at different schools exhibited significant differences in scores in two separate sittings. Performance varied by enough that standard setting approaches that produce realistic fail rates in one medical school may produce substantially different pass rates in other medical schools – despite identical content and the candidates being governed by the same regulator. Regardless of which hypothetical standards are “correct” as judged by experts, large institutional gaps in pass rates must be explored and understood by medical educators before shared standards are applied. The study results can assist cross-school groups in developing a consensus on standard setting future licensing assessment.

scholarly journals Does Medical School Geography and Ranking Influence Residency Match in Otolaryngology?

2021 ◽  
pp. 000348942110264
Author(s):  
Khodayar Goshtasbi ◽  
Kotaro Tsutsumi ◽  
Catherine Merna ◽  
Edward C. Kuan ◽  
Yarah M. Haidar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Residency Programs ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Accessible Information ◽  
Regional Medical

Objective: To elucidate the associations between geographic locations, rankings, and size/funding of medical schools and residency programs among the current otolaryngology residents. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study queried otolaryngology residency program websites for relevant publicly accessible information. Location was categorized as Midwest, Northeast, South, and West. Ranking was according to Doximity (residency) and US News and World Report (medical school). Medical school and residency programs were labeled large if they had >704 students or >15 residents, respectively. Results: A total of 1413 residents from 98 (89%) otolaryngology residency programs were included. Residents attending their home medical schools (18%) were equally distributed among regions ( P = .845). Residents who attended medical schools in the same US regions (54%) were more likely from top-25 ( P = .001) or private ( P < .001) medical schools. Southern residents were most likely (64%) and Western residents were least likely (39%) from regional medical schools ( P < .001), while residents from Midwest and Northeast had similar rates (54%-55%). The percentage of Midwest residents coming from regional medical schools has decreased from the 2013 to 2014 residency cycle ( P = .037). Completing undergraduate school, medical school, and residency in the same region (38%) was also highest in the South (45%) and lowest in the West (25%) ( P < .001). Residents at top-ranked residency programs were more likely from top-ranked ( P < .001), large ( P = .025), and private ( P = .018) medical schools. Conclusion: There exist significant associations between otolaryngology residents’ medical school location, ranking, size, and funding source and their residency destination. More than half of the current otolaryngology residents attended medical school in the same geographic region, and about one-fifth have attended medical school and residency at the same institution. Future studies are warranted to evaluate how these results change as the match process evolves in the future. Level of Evidence: N/A.

scholarly journals A Cross-sectional Study of Undergraduate Teaching of Trauma and Orthopaedics in the UK and the Relationship between Medical Schools and Interest in Trauma and Orthopaedics as a Career.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Choi ◽  
Setthasorn Ooi ◽  
Eleanor Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
General Medical Council ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
National Average ◽  
Undergraduate Teaching ◽  
Medical Council ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Aims: Adequate exposure and teaching of Trauma and Orthopaedics (T&O) to medical students is fundamental in order to obtain sufficient knowledge and sustain their interest in T&O as a career. The primary aim is to assess the exposure and delivery of T&O at all medical schools in the UK. The secondary aim is to determine whether there are any associations between attending a particular medical school and having a strong interest in pursuing a career in T&O. Methods: To explore the primary aim, all 33 UK medical schools were investigated in the study, by means of a questionnaire distributed to medical students. This did not include ‘new’ medical schools, defined as those established from 2014 onwards. To investigate the secondary aim of exploring associations between students’ and alumni’s medical schools and their interest in T&O as a career, British Orthopaedic Training Association (BOTA) members were reviewed, using the General Medical Council register to identify the universities from which members had graduated. The authors have made the assumption that membership of BOTA signified an interest in T&O as a career. Results: Results were obtained for all 33 medical schools. The mean total teaching time specifically for T&O throughout medical school was 18 days, ranging from 3 to 60 days in total. 118 BOTA members were reviewed. No member of BOTA in the study had attended medical school in Keele, Liverpool, Plymouth or Lancashire. These universities taught below the national average number of days in T&O. Conclusions: There is a large national variance in the number of compulsory teaching days provided for T&O. The authors advocate medical schools to aim for at least the national average in duration of T&O of 18 days.

scholarly journals A Cross-Sectional Study of Undergraduate Teaching of Trauma and Orthopaedics in the UK and the Relationship Between Medical Schools and Interest in Trauma and Orthopaedics as a Career

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 238212052110727
Author(s):  
Sarah Choi ◽  
Setthasorn Ooi ◽  
Eleanor Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
General Medical Council ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
National Average ◽  
Undergraduate Teaching ◽  
Medical Council ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Uk

INTRODUCTION Adequate exposure and teaching of Trauma and Orthopaedics (T&O) to medical students is fundamental in order to obtain sufficient knowledge and sustain their interest in T&O as a career. The primary aim is to assess the exposure and delivery of T&O at all medical schools in the UK. The secondary aim is to determine whether there are any associations between attending a particular medical school and having a strong interest in pursuing a career in T&O. METHODS To explore the primary aim, all 33 UK medical schools were investigated in the study, by means of a questionnaire distributed to medical students. This did not include ‘new’ medical schools, defined as those established from 2014 onwards. To investigate the secondary aim of exploring associations between students’ and alumni's medical schools and their interest in T&O as a career, British Orthopaedic Training Association (BOTA) members were reviewed, using the General Medical Council register to identify the universities from which members had graduated. The authors have made the assumption that membership of BOTA signified an interest in T&O as a career. RESULTS Results were obtained for all 33 medical schools. The mean total teaching time specifically for T&O throughout medical school was 18 days, ranging from 3 to 60 days in total. 118 BOTA members were reviewed. No member of BOTA in the study had attended medical school in Keele, Liverpool, Plymouth or Lancashire. These universities taught below the national average number of days in T&O. DISUCSSION There is a large national variance in the number of compulsory teaching days provided for T&O. The authors advocate medical schools to aim for at least the national average in duration of T&O of 18 days.

scholarly journals Journal clubs in Australian medical schools: prevalence, application, and educators’ opinions

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Damian James Ianno ◽  
Kelly Mirowska-Allen ◽  
Stephen Anthony Kunz ◽  
Richard O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Critical Appraisal ◽  
Journal Club ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Significant Heterogeneity ◽  
Educational Tool ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Academic Leaders ◽  
Journal Clubs

Purpose: Medically-focused journal clubs have been used as an educational tool for over 100 years, with research indicating that they improve knowledge, reading behaviour, and critical appraisal skills. However, it is unknown how widespread they are in Australian medical schools, nor the opinions of medical education leaders as to their value.Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional study was performed among academic leaders from every Australian medical school. Individuals were asked to complete a survey detailing their attitudes towards journal clubs using single- or multiple-answer questions, Likert scales, and ranked data. They were asked whether students at their institutions were able to partake in journal clubs, and if so, provided details on their implementation.Results: At least 1 response was collected from 18 of 19 Australian medical schools. The response rate was 40.8% (60 of 147), and 36 responses (60.0%) were from heads of clinical schools. Respondents from 15 of 18 institutions (83.3%) stated that their institution had a journal club. Of these, 23 (65.7%) were metropolitan institutions and 12 (34.3%) were rural institutions. Eighteen (51.4%) journal clubs were clinician-led, 13 (37.1%) were run through specific hospital departments, and 23 (65.7%) occurred during clinical years. Most respondents (20 [57.1%]) stated that the primary aim of the journal club was to develop critical appraisal skills.Conclusion: Journal clubs are a highly regarded educational tool in the armoury of medical school educators, with significant heterogeneity in their structure, geographic prevalence, and intended purpose. Further studies of their efficacy in teaching evidence-based medicine is warranted.

scholarly journals 1167 A Cross-Sectional Study of Undergraduate Exposure and Teaching of Trauma and Orthopaedics in The UK

2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_6) ◽  
Author(s):  
S M Choi ◽  
S Z Y Ooi ◽  
E C Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Clinical Teaching ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Total Length ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Aim Research has shown exposure to specialities as a medical student can have a great influence in choice of career. Exposure to potential mentors during this time also has an additive effect on career shaping of medical students. It is important to encourage interest in trauma and orthopaedics (T&O) to ensure the best candidates are selected. Our aim was to establish the compulsory duration of T&O teaching provided by all (non-new) medical schools. This study also aims to identify which other specialities were taught alongside T&O. Method Surveys were distributed to medical students in all 33 (non-new) medical schools, through surgical societies and colleagues met through courses, between June 2019- February 2020. The survey asked the total length of compulsory teaching of T&O in days, and how this was divided into pre-clinical or clinical teaching. Results Data for all 33 UK medical schools were collected. Only 7 medical schools taught T&O as a standalone subject. The other 26 medical schools combined T&O with other specialities, most commonly with Rheumatology (n = 16). The average total length of days of T&O teaching across medical school was 17 days (range 3-60). Majority of this teaching was given in the clinical years of medical school (n = 30). Conclusions Research has shown medical students require enough exposure to increase their interest in pursuing a particular speciality. Currently there is a huge variance on the number of compulsory teaching days for T&O.

scholarly journals Variation in performance on common content items at UK medical schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hope ◽  
David Kluth ◽  
Matthew Homer ◽  
Avril Dewar ◽  
Richard Fuller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Standard Setting ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Pass Rates ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Institutional Differences ◽  
Common Content ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Due to differing assessment systems across UK medical schools, making meaningful cross-school comparisons on undergraduate students’ performance in knowledge tests is difficult. Ahead of the introduction of a national licensing assessment in the UK, we evaluate schools’ performances on a shared pool of “common content” knowledge test items to compare candidates at different schools and evaluate whether they would pass under different standard setting regimes. Such information can then help develop a cross-school consensus on standard setting shared content. Methods We undertook a cross-sectional study in the academic sessions 2016-17 and 2017-18. Sixty “best of five” multiple choice ‘common content’ items were delivered each year, with five used in both years. In 2016-17 30 (of 31 eligible) medical schools undertook a mean of 52.6 items with 7,177 participants. In 2017-18 the same 30 medical schools undertook a mean of 52.8 items with 7,165 participants, creating a full sample of 14,342 medical students sitting common content prior to graduation. Using mean scores, we compared performance across items and carried out a “like-for-like” comparison of schools who used the same set of items then modelled the impact of different passing standards on these schools. Results Schools varied substantially on candidate total score. Schools differed in their performance with large (Cohen’s d around 1) effects. A passing standard that would see 5 % of candidates at high scoring schools fail left low-scoring schools with fail rates of up to 40 %, whereas a passing standard that would see 5 % of candidates at low scoring schools fail would see virtually no candidates from high scoring schools fail. Conclusions Candidates at different schools exhibited significant differences in scores in two separate sittings. Performance varied by enough that standards that produce realistic fail rates in one medical school may produce substantially different pass rates in other medical schools – despite identical content and the candidates being governed by the same regulator. Regardless of which hypothetical standards are “correct” as judged by experts, large institutional differences in pass rates must be explored and understood by medical educators before shared standards are applied. The study results can assist cross-school groups in developing a consensus on standard setting future licensing assessment.

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