Challenges and Attitude towards Research among Physicians of Bangladesh: A Cross Sectional Questionnaire Survey.

In the history of human civilization, research has played a significant role. There is no doubt that meeting the challenges of the 21st century will be tough if we are not world leaders in science and technology. The objective of this study was to assess physicians' attitude about research and the challenges they confront when doing research. From July to December 2020, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed among physicians in Bangladesh. The questionnaire poll had 626 responses in total. There were 55.6 % female physicians and 44.4% male physicians among them. The majority of physicians (87.6%) felt that conducting research is critical to become a specialist. Research methodology training at the medical colleges are extremely beneficial, according to a substantial percentage of physicians (72.2%). Research methodology should be included in undergraduate curriculum, according to 89% of physicians. Research is beneficial as it aids critical thinking and policy implementation, according to almost all respondents (96.7%). The majority of respondents cited insufficient research training (92%), insufficient funding (92.2%), insufficient time (61%), insufficient familiarity with statistical analysis (88%), insufficient skill to design and conduct a research project and write a scientific paper (90%), as barriers to research. Priority on teaching and clinical practices over research and lack of interest to do research also mentioned by 93.3% and 61% responded respectively. Consequently, this study identified challenges and attitude of physicians towards research. This finding will guide for further studies to find out effective interventions to address the obstacles raised by research participants. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.13(1) January 2022: 10-19

Teachers' Perceptions of Netiquette Practices by undergraduate Dental Students During Online Classes in Covid-19 Pandemic

Netiquettes are general rules and customs governing social and professional interactions that are considered acceptable. Objectives: To explore Teachers' perceptions of netiquette practices by undergraduate dental students during online classes in COVID-19 pandemic. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional Study. Methodology: Research was conducted in two leading private dental colleges of twin cities. Convenience sampling was done to obtain data. A self-constructed questionnaire comprising of open and close ended questions was disseminated to the dental faculty of both colleges through What’s App groups. Statistical analysis: SPSS software, v 21 analyzed data. Results: Responses from ninety-seven participants showed that students exhibited a casual attitude in online classes and showed lack of interest and motivation. Issues like absenteeism, distraction during classes and use of unfair means during exams were prevalent. Teachers were of the opinion that students should be guided properly on how to attend online classes and provided with constructive feedback. Faculty had a general idea about "netiquettes., however, there was a significant lack of formal knowledge regarding netiquette rules and standards. On account of this, most of the participants reported the lack of institutional guidelines for netiquette standards and practices. Therefore, a need for documented netiquettes policy in educational institutes was suggested. Conclusion: We concluded that accrediting bodies and medical institutions should formulate a policy of netiquette practices. Implementation of netiquette practices in the undergraduate curriculum is the need of time. Key Words: Netiquette Practices, Undergraduate Students, E-learning and Online Teaching.

Establishing New Curriculum of Pathology and its Challenges at a New Medical College

Background: A competency-based curriculum is the key highlight of medical transformation in India, which provides an outcome-based framework requiring the integration of knowledge, skills, and values, unlike an old curriculum that did not provide a cohesive and comprehensive outlook. Objectives: We aimed to discuss and evaluate in detail the process and setup of a new competency-based medical curriculum in the Department of Pathology and enlist the assets and challenges while doing the same. Methods: The new curriculum was set up under the guidelines of competency-based undergraduate curriculum for the Indian Medical Graduate, state university guidelines, articles from the internet, and discussions with other universities all over the country. Conclusions: As compared to the previous curriculum, the new curriculum introduces many positive changes and requires a revolutionary change in the outlook of institutions, faculty, and students. Prior preparedness, flexibility to adopt new changes, consistency, and long-term commitment to transition from facilitators will go a long way in producing an excellent Indian medical graduate.

Is Test Item Arrangement a Factor in the Academic Achievement of Undergraduate Pharmacy Students in Chemistry?

Aims: To determine the effect of test item arrangements in ascending, descending and no consistent order of difficulty in multiple choice tests on undergraduate pharmacy students’ academic achievement in a chemistry course. The present study served as an attempt to relate the effect of test item arrangement on undergraduate pharmacy students’ academic achievement in a chemistry course in Nigerian Universities. Study Design: Quasi-experimental research design of pre-test posttest non-equivalent group design was adopted in carrying out this research. Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in ten Nigerian Universities between August, 2020 to April, 2021. Methodology: We sampled 200 participants (111 male, 89 females; age range 16 – 27 years) undergraduate pharmacy students drawn from ten (10) Universities in Nigeria. Twenty undergraduate pharmacy students offering Basic Principle of Chemistry (Chem. 101) were randomly selected from each of the selected universities for the study. Results: The mean scores when test items were arranged in ascending, descending, and no consistent orders of item difficulty were 44.38, 37.85 and 40.13 respectively. Their differential mean scores were 6.53, 2.28 and 4.26 in the same order. This implies that pharmacy students obtained higher scores when test items were arranged in ascending order of difficulty, followed by no consistent order and least in descending order of difficulty. The findings further revealed no significant arrangement by gender interaction effect on undergraduate pharmacy students` performance in the three tests. Conclusion: This study will help pharmacy lecturers in determining the most appropriate test item order which will help the students obtain high scores in any pharmaceutical test. The researchers conducted a quasi-experimental study on the topic as part of their undergraduate curriculum to examine the best test item format that will enhance pharmacy students' academic achievement in a chemistry course.

Inclusive curriculum and BAME student advocacy in a business school: reflections on three years of inclusive module reviews

This article presents a case study of BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) student advocacy and its impact upon the curriculum of a large business school within a post-92 UK university. Learning from the University of Birmingham's (2017) ‘BME Ambassador Scheme’ and the ‘Curriculum Consultants’ model at Kingston University (2017), a programme of BAME Student Advocates was established in 2018 across this university, to raise issues of race equity with staff in positions of power. The scheme has grown from 10 BAME Student Advocates in 2018 to 14 in 2020, offering student advocacy on many aspects of university life, including employability services, the learning environment, academic skills workshops, student community and belonging, and the undergraduate curriculum. The role-holder is employed by the central Student Success Team, and partners with a senior member of staff in each academic school (and several other business functions) to collaborate on specific race equity objectives each year. One recurring aspect of the role involves offering diverse student perspectives on module content, delivery and assessment to achieve a more inclusive curriculum design for programmes with the largest awarding gaps. This article reflects upon the outcomes and lessons learned through conducting 24 such module reviews over a three-year period within a business school and proposes potential future developments.