Bringing a Global Perspective to Students via Telesimulation

The aim of this Simulation Based Experience (SBE) was to replicate a global initiative via a telesimulated environment. Due to COVID-19, all study abroad trips were canceled by both the University and the governments of both the United States and Peru. In order to facilitate the learning goals and objectives, faculty developed a fully functional, online module via Zoom, which simulated in-country experiences. Three four-hour Zoom sessions allowed faculty to utilize INASCL standards of best practice to facilitate SBE activities such as pre and post-operative education for an Embedded Participant (EP) playing the role of patient (INACSL Standards Committee, 2016; Lioce et al., 2020). 80% of students attempted to speak Spanish over the course of the SBE. During the debrief process, students were asked to provide affective words regarding the SBE which indicated trepidation in utilizing the Spanish language and not understanding content. On the final day of simulation, all students found value and collaboration in the process. Telesimulation via Zoom allowed students to be immersed in an unknown culture, and the use of breakout rooms encouraged engagement with EP one-on-one. Zoom for remote simulation is a plausible replacement for HFPS due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research is needed to explore and compare cultural gains and sensitivity to students in-country versus through remote learning.

Online Module for Acid and Base Topic Based on 5E Model

Alternative conception or misconception is one of the problems that often be experienced by the students in science subjects including chemistry due to its abstractness and wide scope to be learned. Previous studies found that students often have misconceptions on strength of acid and base topic such as misconception in determining factor that affect the strength of acid and base, differences between strong and weak acid and base as well as the effect of strength of acid and base on conductivity. To overcome these misconceptions, an online teaching and learning module using 5E instructional model was developed. Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE) model is used for research and development. The module used interactive tools and medias to make students being active and understand chemistry well. This module was validated by five experts in term of module objectives, module content, usability, flexibility, learning activities and language aspects with average is ninety percent. The results prove that the module is very good and has high validity. Therefore, the application of online module for acid and base topic based on 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) model is suitable to be implemented in online teaching and learning process.

"Building a More Inclusive Blood System in Canada": A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a Workshop to Guide Medical Students to Develop as Health Advocates Through Advancing Health Equity in Blood Product Donation for Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Men

Introduction: Competent and socially responsible physicians require a range of abilities other than medical expertise to effectively meet the healthcare needs of the people they serve, including health advocacy skills. The CanMEDS framework for physician competency outlines that, as Health Advocates, physicians work to determine and understand patient and community needs, speak on behalf of others when required, and support the mobilization of resources to effect change. Although recognized as essential for medical trainees to develop, health advocacy is challenging to teach and assess. Here, we describe the development and evaluation of a workshop to support Canadian medical students to develop as health advocates through advancing health equity in blood product donation for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) in Canada. Methods: We developed a workshop for a Canadian medical student audience, "Building a more inclusive blood system in Canada", consisting of an online module followed by a virtual facilitated discussion group. The online module (available at stemcellclub.ca/training) outlined blood and stem cell donation in Canada for gbMSM, starting from the historical policies and the context in which they were first put in place, to today's policies and where future policies may lie (Fig. A). The module also presented content from a national campaign in Canada to engage gbMSM as stem cell donors (stemcellclub.ca/savingliveswithpride). The discussion group supported participants to reflect on donation policies for gbMSM and their consequences, and discuss how medical students can concurrently advocate for gbMSM and patients in need of blood products. A facilitator guide was developed and facilitator training was provided. A pre- and post- test was administered to participants to assess knowledge transfer. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were employed to evaluate participants' perspectives on the impact of the workshop on their development as health advocates. Results: From 10/2020-7/2021, workshops were hosted at 8 medical schools across Canada. 104 medical students from across Canada participated, of whom 65 (63% response rate) completed a pre- and post- workshop survey. 26 (40%) of survey respondents were male, 22 (34%) identified as LGBTQ+ (10 gay, 9 bisexual, 3 other), and 52% were non-Caucasian (from 9 different ancestral groups). 44 (68%) were in the first and 16 (25%) in second years of medical school. Post-workshop, mean scores on a 6-question stem cell donation knowledge test improved from 33% to 79% (p<0.001, Fig B), and 88% felt the workshop prepared them to discuss blood and stem cell donation for gbMSM with others. 98% strongly agreed/agreed the workshop supported their development as health advocates (Fig C), including the abilities to: advocate for patients beyond the clinical environment (83%); work with patients (88%) or communities and populations (74%) to address and identify determinants of health that affect them and their access to care; respond to the needs of communities or populations by advocating with them for system-level change (83%); improve clinical practice by applying a process of continuous quality improvement to disease prevention and health promotion activities (79%); and contribute to a process to improve the health of a community or population they will serve (90%). 94% felt that the workshop should be incorporated into medical curricula. 39 medical students participated in focus groups to share their perspectives on the workshop. (42% male, 37% LGBTQ+ identified, 76% non-Caucasian; 53% in first year of medical school). Qualitative analysis identified rich examples of participant development as health advocates through their participation in the workshop (Fig D). Conclusion: We present the perspective of a national cohort of medical students in Canada that their participation in a workshop on advancing health equity in blood product donation for gbMSM contributed to their development as health advocates. This workshop is a model for teaching health advocacy to medical students and is relevant to medical educators and curriculum developers. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Healthy Diets and Regular Exercises to Achieve a Health-Related Quality of Life: A Quasi-experimental Study

This study developed an online health education module on diet and exercise in achieving a health-related quality of life. A quantitative quasi-experimental study design was used. A-301 respondents were enrolled for the self-administered questionnaire using the RAND SF-36 of the health-related quality of life as pre- and post-test for both experimental and control group. An online module on diet and exercise was developed as an intervention to achieve a health-related quality of life. The online module on diet and exercise was effective in achieving a significant health-related quality of life (p≤0.05). Specifically, the domains of the health-related quality of life achieved after 12 months of healthy diets and regular exercises were general health (72.700±41.1, p0.00915), physical functioning (82.3200±51.8, p0.0015), role physical (92.02±41.06, p0.001), role emotional (72.706±21.12, p0.00), social functioning (96.09±48.727, p0.0012), bodily pain (99.3±69.128, p0.015), vitality (62.7±31.08, p0.0104), and mental health (72.35±41.18, p0.00455).

Exploring Student Support in a Completely Online Module Within an Open Distance eLearning Institution

Most first-year students lack technological skills, which hampers their learning. Within the University of South Africa (UNISA), as an open distance and e-learning (ODeL) institution, first-year students require support to succeed, particularly because they are responsible for managing their own time and studies. Using a signature course, such as ‘Language through an African Lens' (AFL1501), which is a completely online module offered by the College of Human Sciences, the author explores how qualtrics data and narrative analysis aid students in completing their coursework. The article further touches on the significance of UNISA tools and other online resources as fundamentals of connectivism, the theory of technology as an extension of human faculty, and transformative learning theory as a support mechanism. The contributions of the lecturer and teaching assistants in facilitating first-year students' success in the online module are invaluable, as is evident from this report involving 600 survey respondents from Unisa.

Pharmacogenetics in Pharmaceutical Care—Piloting an Application-Oriented Blended Learning Concept

To enable application-oriented training of Swiss pharmacists on pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing, an advanced, digital training program was conceptualized based on the Miller’s Pyramid framework, using a blended learning approach. The PGx advanced training program included an asynchronous self-study online module, synchronous virtual classroom sessions with lectures and workshops, and a follow-up case study for in-depth applied learning including the analysis of the participants’ PGx profile. The evaluation of the training program consisted of (a) an assessment of the participants’ development of knowledge, competencies and attitudes towards PGx testing in the pharmacy setting; (b) a satisfaction survey including; (c) questions about their future plans for implementing a PGx service. Twenty-one pharmacists participated in this pilot program. The evaluation showed: (a) a significant improvement of their PGx knowledge (mean score in the knowledge test 75.3% before to 90.3% after training completion) and a significant increase of their self-perceived competencies in applying PGx counselling; (b) a high level of satisfaction with the training program content and the format (at least 79% expressed high/very high agreement with the statements in the questionnaire); (c) a mixed view on whether participants will implement PGx testing as a pharmacy service (indecisive 8; agreed/completely agreed to implement 7/1; disagreed 3 (n = 19)). We consider ongoing education as an important driver for the implementation of PGx in pharmacy practice.

Questions to the article: Predicting Unscheduled Emergency Department Return Visits Among Older Adults (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED The article published on 28 July 2021 is well-written and of interest, but remains several questions that are required for clarifications, such as (1) the Figure 1 is too complex to release the decision criteria for predicting unscheduled emergency department return visits (EDRVs); (2) the Table 1 with 11 rules is not succinct for readers to capture the core features of the influencing factors on the unscheduled EDRVs, and (3) the decision tree technique using Weka software did not demonstrate an online module that can be implemented in clinical settings. We suggested three ways to improve the study in methods and illustrated examples presented in previous studies using the decision tree technique. In addition, to solve the problem of class imbalance in data should be combined with an MP4 video(or a Multimedia Appendix) to make readers easily replicate similar research in the future. The patient characteristics and variables deposited in Multimedia Appendix 1 are insufficient. A small sample of data (e.g., one-tenth from the 10-fold cross-validation method to randomly partition the data set into ten subsets in the study) should be provided for readers to verify the decision tree that can yield appropriately 76.65% and 76.95% in sensitivity and specificity, respectively, as did in predicting the unscheduled EDRVs. Otherwise, the study results are doubtable.