Giving feedback in the new CBME curriculum paradigm: Principles, models and situations where feedback can be given

The new competency based medical education represents a paradigm shift from a teacher centered to a student centered learning of outcome competencies paradigm and so both the students and the teachers are unfamiliar with it. Giving and receiving feedback is central to the competency development framework. Only through frequent, timely and appropriate feedback there will be effective development of cognitive competence in its lead up to performance of competence. These concepts are illustrated to convey the importance of giving feedback to students. As the teachers are expected to practice giving feedback to students, they were opportunistically asked prior to a faculty development workshop what their priority learning needs about giving feedback are. Based on this a focused review of literature was done to collect the information on the various models of giving feedback, the principles for giving feedback, the possible situations in curriculum delivery where teachers can and should give feedback to students.The literature revealed some good practice models for giving feedback to the naïve as well as the mature students in ambulatory and clinical teaching settings as well as on their performance as revealed by their test results. Models of counseling which has strong element of feedback on the learner’s performance and helping them choose the way forward after identifying the problem is also shared.

Nurse Preceptors’ Experiences of an Online Strength-Based Nursing Course in Clinical Teaching

Background: Online educational programs for nurse preceptors have been created based on various theoretical frameworks; however, no programs using a Strengths-Based Nursing (SBN) approach could be located. Purpose: This qualitative descriptive study explored the nurse preceptors’ experiences in using a SBN approach to provide clinical teaching to nursing students after completing an online SBN clinical teaching course. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six nurses. Data was thematically analyzed. Findings: Although their levels of familiarity with SBN varied, all preceptors acknowledged that using a SBN approach in clinical teaching benefits both students and educators. They reported that it empowered students and that it allowed them to discover their strengths. Getting to know their students helped the preceptors provide tailored learning experiences and feedback. Using the SBN approach simultaneously enhanced the preceptors’ self-confidence and created opportunities for shared learning. Conclusion: Using a strengths’ approach offers nurse preceptors a powerful tool to facilitate student learning and skills development in clinical practice.

Validation of the efficacy of the NUTRISCORE for the nutritional screening of cancer patients in China

Background Malnutrition is common in cancer patients. The NUTRISCORE is a newly developed cancer-specific nutritional screening tool and was validated by comparison with the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) in Spain. We aimed to evaluate the performance of the NUTRISCORE, MST, and PG-SGA in estimating the risk of malnutrition in Chinese cancer patients. Methods Data from an open parallel and multicenter cross-sectional study in 29 clinical teaching hospitals in 14 Chinese cities were used. Cancer patients were assessed for malnutrition using the PG-SGA, NUTRISCORE, and MST. The sensitivity, specificity, and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were estimated for the NUTRISCORE and MST using the PG-SGA as a reference. Results A total of 1000 cancer patients were included. The mean age was 55.9 (19 to 92 years), and 47.5% were male. Of these patients, 450 (45.0%) had PG-SGA B and C, 29 (2.9%) had a NUTRISCORE ≥5, and 367 (36.7%) had an MST ≥ 2. Using the PG-SGA as a reference, the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve values of the NUTRISCORE were found to be 6.2, 99.8%, and 0.53, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve values of the MST were 50.9, 74.9%, and 0.63, respectively. The kappa index between the NUTRISCORE and PG-SGA was 0.066, and that between the MST and PG-SGA was 0.262 (P < 0.05). Conclusions The NUTRISCORE had an extremely low sensitivity in cancer patients in China compared with the MST when the PG-SGA was used as a reference.

Effective Veterinary Clinical Teaching in a Variety of Teaching Settings

This review explores different modalities for clinical teaching of veterinary learners globally. Effective clinical teaching aims to prepare graduates for a successful career in clinical practice. Unfortunately, there is scant literature concerning clinical teaching in veterinary medicine. Our intent for this review is to stimulate and/or facilitate discussion and/or research in this important area. We discuss the different forms that veterinary clinical teaching can take, depending on their setting, which can be university-based clinical activities, work-based in commercial clinical practices, or in a traditional academic setting with little to no real-time exposure to clients and patients. We suggest that each of these modalities has a place in clinical teaching of veterinary learners at any point in the curriculum but that a mix of these approaches will likely provide an improved experience for the learner. Further, we discuss strategies to improve clinical teaching in these different settings. Potential strategies related to the teaching skills of clinical instructors could include training in delivery of clinical teaching in a variety of learning settings, and instructors’ official recognition, including opportunities for career progression. Potential strategies to improve clinical teaching in different teaching settings would vary with the learning settings. For example, in traditional academic settings, case-based learning with incorporation of simulation models is one proposed strategy. The involvement of learners in ‘teach-others’ is a strategy for both traditional academic and clinical settings. Finally, clearly addressing Day One competencies is required in any clinical teaching setting.

General dental practitioners’ perceptions on Team-based learning pedagogy for continuing dental education

Introduction: Team-based learning (TBL) pedagogy is a structured, flipped classroom approach to promote active learning. In April 2019, we designed a TBL workshop to introduce the New Classification of Periodontal Diseases 2017 to a group of general dental practitioners (GDPs). We aimed to investigate GDPs feedback on learning this new classification using TBL pedagogy. Methods: Two articles related to the 2017 classification were sent to 22 GDPs 2 weeks prior to a 3-hour workshop. During the face-to-face session, they were randomly assigned to five groups. They participated in individual and group readiness assurance tests. Subsequently, the GDPs had inter- and intragroup facilitated discussions on three simulated clinical cases. They then provided feedback using a pen-to-paper survey. Based on a 5-point Likert scale (1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree), they indicated their level of agreement on items related to the workshop and their learning experience. Results: Majority (94.7%, 18 out of 19 GDPs) agreed the session improved their understanding of the new classification and they preferred this TBL pedagogy compared to a conventional lecture. All learners agreed they can apply the knowledge to their work and there was a high degree of participation and involvement during the session. They found the group discussion and the simulated clinical cases useful. Conclusion: A TBL workshop is suitable for clinical teaching of the New Classification of Periodontal Diseases 2017 for GDPs. Its structure promotes interaction among learners with the opportunity to provide feedback and reflection during the group discussions. This model might be a good pedagogy for continuing dental education.

Ethical and Bioethical Aspects in the Use of Stem Cells in Chronic Spinal Cord Injuries

One of the fundamental dogmas maintained in neuroscience until the last century held that regeneration of the nervous system cannot occur in stages of adult life. However, it has been shown in several species during the postnatal stage and throughout life, that new neurons continue to be generated in some places in the human body. Objectives: The research was: to evaluate ethical and bioethical aspects in patients who were treated with an autologous stem cell implant in chronic spinal cord injuries. Method. An analysis is made of the ethical aspects that accompany the implantation of autologous stem cells in chronic spinal cord injuries. The results are evaluated at the "Enrique Cabrera" Surgical Clinical Teaching Hospital. Results: Ethical dilemmas are expressed and that have, among their relevant principles, the inviolability of human life. In higher animals, stem cells according to their evolutionary state can be embryonic and somatic or adult. Currently there is an extraordinary controversy about which stem cells to use from embryonic or adult ones, a debate in which both scientific, ethical, religious, social and political aspects have been included. One aspect of the scientific debate is related to the generative capacity of tumors by embryonic cells. From the ethical point of view, it has been argued that the use of human embryonic stem cells implies the destruction of embryos and it has been considered that life begins at the same moment of the union of the sperm with the ovum and that this would be equivalent to the destruction of a human life which would not be justifiable. Others do not agree with these criteria and argue that their use to save lives through research or therapy would be justified. Conclusions The physical disability produced by a chronic spinal cord injury raises an ethical dilemma about the use of stem cells, anticipating that the main controversy about this action has to do fundamentally with the way in which they are obtained.

Using Multimodal Pedagogy to Teach Languages Online

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 immediately exposed inequities among students and teachers in terms of technological access and pedagogical skill. Educators responded to this new reality by modifying their teaching and interactions with learners and by seeking opportunities for introspection, reflection, and transformation. The field of teacher education was also affected by the pandemic. This chapter presents the transformation of an in-school face-to-face pre-clinical language teaching and learning experience at the elementary school level into an innovative virtual hands-on online one-on-one language pre-clinical teaching and learning experience. It also includes how teacher candidates (TCs) participating in this program designed and taught highly engaging multimodal virtual lessons, the pros and cons of teaching in this type of setting, and the lessons learned though this experience.

Developing a Copyright Curriculum for Nigerian Universities for the Creative Digital Space

This paper explores the significance of teaching and learning digital copyright laws within a reformed Nigerian copyright regime. It further analyzes how an experiential and clinical teaching pedagogy, developed as part of a copyright law curriculum, will become an agency to protect, safeguard, and impel the development of Nigerian creative industries, particularly the film sector. Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and an emerging creative industrial power. The training and expertise of its legal professionals in the knowledge and creative economy have significant impact beyond Nigeria, across the length and breadth of the other African countries. The article sets out to provide a recipe for a functional approach to the development of a digital copyright curriculum in the law faculties of Nigerian universities as a pragmatic and industry-focused way of teaching while adding value to the creative industries. The paper further examines how the law faculties of Nigerian universities could redesign their copyright curriculum to teach not just theories but, more importantly, the wider policy framework. The paper also explores how to understand the practical, business and economic systems of the creative industries. The paper uses ‘Nollywood’, the contemporary Nigerian film industry, as a case study to continue the discussion on the sustainable development of the Nigerian creative industries.

Perceptions of Nursing Students Regarding Clinical Teaching and Learning During COVID-19 at Selected Higher Education Institutions in Lesotho

Nursing students and their clinical instructors in higher education institutions are faced with challenges regarding their clinical teaching and learning strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to determine the perceptions of nursing students regarding clinical teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. A non-experimental descriptive quantitative research design was used to collect data from 300 nursing students who were enrolled at selected higher education institutions in the 2021/22 academic year in Lesotho. Convenience sampling was used to recruit the respondents who completed a structured self-report questionnaire. Permission to conduct the study was granted by relevant authorities (ID147-2021). Data were analysed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS vs 23) and presented using tables and graphs and described analytically. The findings of the current study show that the minimum age of participants was 19 years and the maximum age was 39 years. The majority of respondents were female (69%: n=207) and studying for a BSc degree in Nursing and Midwifery (49%: n=146). Most nursing students had adequate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to prevent Covid-19 in the clinical area and simulation laboratories. They felt that clinical instructors and preceptors were available and competent to assist them in completing their clinical competencies and procedure file logbooks. Nursing students gained expertise in performing clinical procedures as they were able to perform return demonstrations in the simulation laboratory and clinical areas. Whilst clinical facilities and simulation laboratories had adequate Covid-19 prevention protocols and tools, there was inadequate personal protective equipment available. Conclusively, the perceptions of nursing students regarding clinical teaching and learning during Covid-19 were positive. More support for adequate personal protective equipment for nursing students remains crucial.