Joint clinical clerkships for osteopathic and allopathic medical students: New England's experience.
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Although combined osteopathic and allopathic medical programs are well established for graduate medical education and continuing medical education, little has been published in the literature about such integration at the undergraduate level. The authors describe the preliminary efforts of a joint clinical clerkship program with students from regional osteopathic and allopathic medical schools at a major community teaching hospital in New England. Osteopathic principles and practice are consistently reinforced, exposing students from both medical backgrounds to them. It is hoped that this pilot program serves as a model for developing similar combined programs throughout the United States. (+info)
Medical Students' and Residents' preferred site characteristics and preceptor behaviours for learning in the ambulatory setting: a cross-sectional survey.
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BACKGROUND: Medical training is increasingly occurring in the ambulatory setting for final year medical students and residents. This study looks to identify if gender, school, level of training, or specialty affects learner's (final year medical students and residents) preferred site characteristics and preceptor behaviours for learning in the ambulatory setting. METHODS: All final year medical students and residents at the five medical schools in Ontario (N = 3471) were surveyed about the site characteristics and preceptor behaviours most enhancing their learning in the ambulatory setting. Preferred site characteristics and preceptor behaviours were rank ordered. Factor analysis grouped the site characteristics and preceptor behaviours into themes which were then correlated with gender, school, level of training, and specialty. RESULTS: Having an adequate number and variety of patients while being supervised by enthusiastic preceptors who give feedback and are willing to discuss their reasoning processes and delegate responsibility are site characteristics and preceptor behaviours valued by almost all learners. Some teaching strategies recently suggested to improve efficiency in the ambulatory teaching setting, such as structuring the interview for the student and teaching and reviewing the case in front of the patient, were found not to be valued by learners. There was a striking degree of similarity in what was valued by all learners but there were also some educationally significant differences, particularly between learners at different levels and in different specialties. Key findings between the different levels include preceptor interaction being most important for medical students as opposed to residents who most value issues pertaining to patient logistics. Learning resources are less valued early and late in training. Teaching and having the case reviewed in front of the patient becomes increasingly less valued as learners advance in their training. As one approaches the end of ones' training office management instruction becomes increasingly valued. Differences between specialties pertain most to the type of practice residents will ultimately end up in (ie: office based specialties particularly valuing instruction in office management and health care system interaction). CONCLUSIONS: Preceptors need to be aware of, and make efforts to provide, teaching strategies such as feedback and discussing clinical reasoning, that learners have identified as being helpful for learning. If strategies identified as not being valued for learning, such as teaching in front of the patient, must continue it will be important to explore the barriers they present to learning. Although what all learners want from their preceptors and clinic settings to enhance their learning is remarkably similar, being aware of the educationally significant differences, particularly for learners at different levels and in different specialties, will enhance teaching in the ambulatory setting. (+info)
A Web-based approach to teaching students about diagnostic reasoning.
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BACKGROUND: Web-based curricula can decrease classroom time and provide self-paced, active learning experiences for medical students. INTERVENTION: In our family medicine clerkship, we implemented a Web-based module on applying diagnostic reasoning to determine the likelihood that a patient has Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis based on the history, physical examination, and diagnostic tests. RESULTS: Students rated the module more favorably than other classroom sessions and homework assignments. Most students accurately calculated pretest and posttest probabilities in a write-up of an actual patient with a sore throat. CONCLUSIONS: This Web-based module was well received and effective. (+info)
Appraising and applying evidence about a diagnostic test during a performance-based assessment.
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BACKGROUND: The practice of Evidence-based Medicine requires that clinicians assess the validity of published research and then apply the results to patient care. We wanted to assess whether our soon-to-graduate medical students could appraise and apply research about a diagnostic test within a clinical context and to compare our students with peers trained at other institutions. METHODS: 4th year medical students who previously had demonstrated competency at probability revision and just starting first-year Internal Medicine residents were used for this research. Following an encounter with a simulated patient, subjects critically appraised a paper about an applicable diagnostic test and revised the patient's pretest probability given the test result. RESULTS: The medical students and residents demonstrated similar skills at critical appraisal, correctly answering 4.7 and 4.9, respectively, of 6 questions (p = 0.67). Only one out of 28 (3%) medical students and none of the 15 residents were able to correctly complete the probability revision task (p = 1.00). CONCLUSIONS: This study found that most students completing medical school are able to appraise an article about a diagnostic test but few are able to apply the information from the article to a patient. These findings raise questions about the clinical usefulness of the EBM skills possessed by graduating medical students within the area of diagnostic testing. (+info)
Student evaluation of an OSCE in paediatrics at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica.
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BACKGROUND: The Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies first implemented the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in the final MB Examination in Medicine and Therapeutics during the 2000-2001 academic year. Simultaneously, the Child Health Department initiated faculty and student training, and instituted the OSCE as an assessment instrument during the Child Health (Paediatric) clerkship in year 5. The study set out to explore student acceptance of the OSCE as part of an evaluation of the Child Health clerkship. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was completed by successive groups of students immediately after the OSCE at the end of each clerkship rotation. Main outcome measures were student perception of examination attributes, which included the quality of instructions and organisation, the quality of performance, authenticity and transparency of the process, and usefulness of the OSCE as an assessment instrument compared to other formats. RESULTS: There was overwhelming acceptance of the OSCE in Child Health with respect to the comprehensiveness (90%), transparency (87%), fairness (70%) and authenticity of the required tasks (58-78%). However, students felt that it was a strong anxiety-producing experience. And concerns were expressed regarding the ambiguity of some questions and inadequacy of time for expected tasks. CONCLUSION: Student feedback was invaluable in influencing faculty teaching, curriculum direction and appreciation of student opinion. Further psychometric evaluation will strengthen the development of the OSCE. (+info)
Impact of an evidence-based medicine curriculum on medical students' attitudes and skills.
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PURPOSE: This evaluation study sought to assess the impact of an evidence-based medicine (EBM) course on students' self-perception of EBM skills, determine their use of EBM skills, and measure their performance in applying EBM skills in a simulated case scenario. METHODS: Pre- and post-surveys and skills tests were developed to measure students' attitudes toward and proficiency in EBM skills. Third-year students completed the voluntary survey and skills test at the beginning and completion of a twelve-week clerkship in internal medicine (IM) co-taught by medical and library faculty. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test for a two-tailed test. RESULTS: A statistically significant increase was found in the students' self-assessment of skills. Students reported using the journal literature significantly more frequently during the clerkship than before, although textbooks remained their number one resource. A majority of students reported frequent use of EBM skills during the clerkship. Statistically significant improvement in student performance was also found on the posttest, although the level of improvement was more modest than that found on the post-surveys. CONCLUSION: The introduction of EBM skills to students during a clinical clerkship provides students an opportunity to practice EBM skills and reinforces the use of evidence in making patient-care decisions. (+info)
Which patients are most challenging for second-year medical students?
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Fostering appropriate attitudes toward patients begins with recognition of the physician's personal biases and preferences about patients. We sought to assist second-year medical students to identify those patient attributes that may influence their clinical behavior, especially in difficult patient encounters. This study's objectives were (1) to identify the principal patient characteristics reported by students to evoke negative or positive affective reactions sufficient to compromise the quality of patient care and (2) to examine differences between male and female students on these patient characteristics. METHODS: An anonymous survey was made of all second-year medical students attending a seminar on medical errors. Students recorded the three principal patient characteristics that might evoke in them a negative personal reaction sufficient to compromise the quality of clinical care. Students then recorded three principal patient characteristics that might evoke a positive reaction sufficient to compromise the quality of clinical care. The data were analyzed to identify the primary concerns of the entire group of students and any significant differences between male and female students. RESULTS: Information on negative attitudes was provided by 67 of 71 (94%) students and on positive attitudes by 70 of 71 (99%). Content analysis identified four general categories of patient characteristics associated with negative attitudes (patients who are rude, contributed to medical problem, are abusive to others, and other attributes). Five general categories (patients with whom students have personal connection or patients who have physical and/or social attractiveness, vulnerability, power/influence, and other) were associated with positive attitudes by the students. The leading patient attributes reported as likely to influence clinical behavior were the positive attributes of "personal connection" and "attractiveness." These were reported by 60% and 53% of the class, respectively, compared to the leading negative attributes of "rudeness" and "contributed to own condition," each reported by 51% of students. Significant differences between male and female students only occurred in the categories of "rude" and "attractive." CONCLUSIONS: Students are willing to disclose specific, personal attitudes toward patients that they perceive as sufficiently serious to influence the quality of clinical care. More than half of the students anticipated difficulty in providing optimal care to patients who exhibit certain characteristics. More students reported concerns about positive affective reactions to patients than about negative reactions. Medical education should address these issues in strategies to adequately prepare students for practice. (+info)
Evaluation of a communication skills seminar for students in a Japanese medical school: a non-randomized controlled study.
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BACKGROUND: Little data exist for the effectiveness of communication skills teaching for medical students in non-English speaking countries. We conducted a non-randomized controlled study to examine if a short intensive seminar for Japanese medical students had any impact on communication skills with patients. METHODS: Throughout the academic year 2001-2002, a total of 105 fifth-year students (18 groups of 5 to 7 students) participated, one group at a time, in a two-day, small group seminar on medical interviewing. Half way through the year, a five-station objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) was conducted for all fifth-year students. We videotaped all the students' interaction with a standardized patient in one OSCE station that was focused on communication skills. Two independent observers rated the videotapes of 50 students who had attended the seminar and 47 who had not. Sixteen core communication skills were measured. Disagreements between raters were resolved by a third observer's rating. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in proportions of students who were judged as 'acceptable' in one particular skill related to understanding patient's perspectives: asking how the illness or problems affected the patient's life, (53% in the experimental group and 30% in the control group, p = .02). No differences were observed in the other 15 core communication skills, although there was a trend for improvement in the skill for asking the patient's ideas about the illness or problems (60% vs. 40%, p = .054) and one of the relationship building skills; being attentive and empathic nonverbally (87% vs. 72%, p = .064). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that a short, intensive small group seminar for Japanese medical students may have had a short-term impact on specific communication skills, pertaining to understanding patient's perspectives. (+info)