Features of conducting an objective structured practical exam in the discipline “Technology of drug”

The aim of the work: features elucidation of the objective structured practical exam (OSPE) on the discipline of “Technology of Drug”, conducting a survey among students to determine the main benefits of OSPE, as well as identifying difficulties that arose during the preparation and passing the exam. Materials and methods: question papers, checklists for examiners and students, questionnaire, questionnaire results, analytical and statistical evaluation of the obtained data. Results. The article presents OSPE features in the discipline “Technology of Drug”. The structure of the question paper by the stations 1, 2, 3 is considered, as well as checklists for examiners and students are presented. To determine the main advantages and disadvantages of the organization and conduction of OSPE, a survey was conducted among graduates of the Faculty of Pharmacy of Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University. Conclusions. According to the results of the survey, it was found that students noted the high level of organization and conduction of OSPE in the discipline of “Technology of Drug”. At the same time, the difficulties encountered during the preparation for and passing the exam were outlined, including the lack of time to prepare for the exam and the mixed form of education during the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Key words: OSPE; technology of drugs; checklists; questionnaire; respondents.

Homework questions designed to require higher-order cognitive skills in an undergraduate animal physiology course did not produce desirable difficulties, testing effects, or improvements in information retention

Studies show that retrieval practices such as homework assignments that are completed during the encoding phase of learning benefit knowledge acquisition and retention. In addition, desirable difficulties, which are strategies that intentionally create a greater challenge during initial learning to enhance encoding and retrieval pathways, also benefit learning long term. Our objective was to determine whether weekly homework questions intended to create desirable difficulties by requiring higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) benefited students’ long-term retention of physiology concepts compared to questions designed to require lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS). Undergraduate students in a junior-level animal physiology course were presented information during weekly laboratory periods, and then required to complete retrieval practices in the form of online homework assignments 5 d after each lab. Homework questions were formatted per Bloom’s Taxonomy to require HOCS (i.e. level 4 or 5) or LOCS (i.e. level 1 or 2). Information retention was assessed the next week via performance on an in-class quiz and again at semesters’ end via performance on a final practical exam. We observed no differences in performance on the in-class quiz or final practical exam between students randomly assigned to complete homework with HOCS questions compared to LOCS questions. However, students that received homework with HOCS questions had decreased (P < 0.05) performance scores on 9 out of the 11 homework assignments compared to those receiving homework with LOCS questions. These findings indicate that desirable difficulties were not created by our HOCS homework questions because students receiving these more difficult retrieval practices did not achieve equal success on them. As a result, this attempt to create variations in cognitive demand did not enhance retention of knowledge in this study.

Peer Education Model for Basic Life Support Training among High School Children: A Randomized Trial

Background and Objectives: The aim of the study was to test the effectiveness of the peer education method on the learning and application of Basic Life Support (BLS) in high school students and to test the effectiveness of the peer education model on the BLS instructor training. Methods: High school grade one students were included in the study. Students were divided in two groups (Group A and Group B). Peer instructors who were trained by health professionals trained students in Group A. Peer instructors who were trained by their peers trained students in Group B. Pre- and post-training awareness and knowledge tests were applied to measure the awareness and knowledge of all students. Students’ success in applying BLS steps was evaluated by a practical exam that was coordinated by physicians using a checklist. Results: Result of the pre-post training awareness questionnaire, pre-post training knowledge tests, and practical exam indicated that instructors trained by their peers were as effective as the instructors trained by medical physicians in terms of giving BLS training to high school students. In the 16-step BLS application competence evaluation, the students in Group A applied BLS with a success rate of 90.2% and in Group B with a success rate of 93.4%. Conclusion: In the current study, it was shown that the peer education model is effective in BLS training and BLS instructor training in high school students. This novel method of peer education gives an opportunity to overcome the stated shortage in the budget and in trained instructors.

ON THE ISSUE OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL REGULATION OF THE ADOPTION OF A PRACTICAL EXAM FOR THE RIGHT TO DRIVE A VEHICLE

Предметом исследования в настоящей статье выступили правовые нормы, регламентирующие порядок проведения экзамена на право управления транспортным средством категории «В». Автором проводится анализ законодательства в рассматриваемой области, выделяется ряд неоднозначных положений Административного регламента, утвержденного приказом МВД России от 20.02.2021 № 80, вносятся предложения по доработке данного нормативного правового акта. The subject of the study was the legal norms regulating the procedure for conducting the exam for the right to drive a vehicle of category "B". The author analyzes the legislation in the area under consideration, identifies a number of ambiguous provisions of the administrative regulations approved by the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia No. 80 of 20.02.2021, and makes proposals for finalizing this normative legal act.

Students’ Learning Styles in Relation to Service Physical Education Performance

This study aimed to determine the students’ learning styles, whether visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning style, in relation to their Service Physical Education performance in terms of written and practical exam results. The moderating variables of age, gender, academic status, religion, and course were also considered. This was conducted among Service P.E. students of the Mindanao State University, Marawi City, officially enrolled during the 2nd semester, A.Y. 2015 – 2016. This descriptive-correlation study was conducted among 925 respondents (227 male and 588 female respondents). The VARK Learning Styles Questionnaire developed by Victoria Chislett was used to assess their learning styles. The Service P.E. performance was taken from their partial written and practical exams. The majority of the respondents were15-18 years old; most of the respondents were female; most of the respondents were Tuition Privilege status; most of the respondents were Islam believers while others were non-Muslim, and almost all of the respondents were Bachelor of Science (BS) degree pursuers. In terms of learning styles, it was found out that most of the respondents were visual learners. With regard to the Service P.E. performance, most of the respondents received grades of 1.0-1.25 or excellent in their written exams while most of them were rated 1.50-1.75 or very good in their practical exams. The relationship between the variables found out that there were no significant relationships between the moderating variables of age, religion, and course with their respective p-values of 0.272, 0.188, and 0.355 to the independent variable of learning styles. However, there were significant relationships between the moderating variables of gender, academic status and the independent variable of learning styles. Furthermore, age (p = 0.184), academic status (p = 0.385), religion (p = 0.784), and course (p = 0.869) were not significantly related to written exam performance while gender was significantly related to written exam performance. Practical exam performance showed no relationship with the different moderating variables. For the relationship between learning styles and Service P.E. performance, it was revealed that learning styles had a significant relationship between written exam performance, while no relationship existed between learning styles and practical exam performance. Good performance in the written exams matters most in how the students prepare for it. On the other hand, ability, preparation, and constant correct practice will matter the most in preparation for practical exams. Thus, it is recommended that Physical Education administrators formulate plans to further improve the competencies of Physical Education teachers, especially in identifying the different learning styles of their respective students, to provide appropriate teaching approaches that facilitate effective learning experiences among their students. Physical Education teachers should provide enough time for skills practice so that most of their students will have greater chances of obtaining higher ratings in their practical exams. A similar study should be conducted in the future using other variables or using an equal number of respondents in gender and religion.

The flipped classroom: a novel approach to physical examination skills for osteopathic medical students

Context Medical students are faced with the challenge of synthesizing large volumes of information quickly. With the increasing accessibility of technology, a “flipped classroom” allows students to learn foundational material independently. Class time is instead devoted to in-depth skill building with instructors, promoting an active learning environment. This method of content delivery is also relevant given the current COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives To comprehensively evaluate the benefit of adopting a flipped classroom approach in teaching physical exam skills (PES) to first-year osteopathic medical students. Methods A cohort study was conducted comparing first-year osteopathic students in the class of 2022 (n=201), who had taken the PES course traditionally, with the class of 2023 (n=203), who experienced the flipped classroom approach. Objective metrics such as cumulative grades, objective structural clinical examination performance (OSCE), and practical exam performance were compared using nonparametric Mann–Whitney U rank sum tests. Subjective measures such as student course evaluations were used to analyze course perceptions using independent sample t-tests assuming unequal variances. A faculty survey was administered to faculty who taught both cohorts to assess instructor attitudes toward the flipped classroom approach. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Spring 2020 quarter data was not included, given the transition of all classes to an online learning environment. Results The flipped classroom approach significantly improved objective student performance for the Fall (p=0.009) and Winter (p<0.001) student cumulative grades and the History-Taking OSCE (p=0.010). Performance on Fall and Winter practical exam scores had no significant association with the flipped classroom. General student perceptions of the course remained unchanged between both cohorts. Faculty survey results from 10 faculty members showed that six (60%) faculty members preferred the traditional classroom, while four (40%) preferred the flipped classroom. Conclusions The flipped classroom approach showed some statistically significant improvement in student PES. Further studies are needed to evaluate the benefits of a flipped classroom approach using skills-based assessments styles to measure student performance, with a focus on standardization of in-classroom groupwork.

Outcomes of Remote Pathology Instruction in Student Performance and Course Evaluation

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted undergraduate medical education, including preclinical class-based courses, by requiring social distancing and essentially eliminating in-person teaching. The aim of this study was to compare student performance and satisfaction before and after implementation of remote instruction in a first-year introductory pathology course. Assessments (3 quizzes, 1 practical exam, and 1 final) were compared between courses given before (January 2020) and during (January 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of mean scores, degree of difficulty, and item discrimination, both overall and across different question types. Students’ evaluations of the course (Likert scale-based) were also compared between the 2 years. Significantly higher mean scores were observed during remote instruction (compared to the prior, in-person year) on verbatim-repeated questions (94.9 ± 8.8 vs 89.4 ± 12.2; P = .002) and on questions incorporating a gross specimen image (88.4 ± 7.5 vs 84.4 ± 10.3; P = .007). The percentage of questions that were determined to be moderate/hard in degree of difficulty and good/very good in item discrimination remained similar between the 2 time periods. In the practical examination, students performed significantly better during remote instruction on questions without specimen images (96.5 ± 7.0 vs 91.2 ± 15.2; P = .004). Finally, course evaluation metrics improved, with students giving a higher mean rating value in each measured end point of course quality during the year of remote instruction. In conclusion, student performance and course satisfaction generally improved with remote instruction, suggesting that the changes implemented, and their consequences, should perhaps inform future curriculum improvements.