Advances in Medical Education and Practice最新文献

Introduction: Blood-borne occupational exposure (OBE) is one of the major public health problem for healthcare workers globally. Effective education and training on post-exposure management and standard precautions for healthcare trainees, are important measures for reducing OBE and infection rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of standard precaution training on OBE disposition for healthcare trainees, comparing the differences of "theoretical teaching" and "situational simulation" training methods.

Methods: A pre-post intervention study was conducted among 1347 healthcare trainees at a university teaching hospital located in Jining, Shandong Province from July 2023 to September 2023. Healthcare trainees who were undergoing training at the hospital from July 2020 to July 2023 were selected as the research subjects. They voluntarily participated in theoretical teaching group or situational simulation group. The two groups taught the same knowledge using different methods. Both groups were tested the same content before and after the training.

Results: The accuracy rates before and after training in different groups were 71.71% and 78.08%, respectively (P<0.001). The accuracy rate after training in the scenario simulation group (79.08%) was higher than that in the theoretical teaching group (76.60%), with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The accuracy rate for trainees who experienced OBE was 69.87% before training and 77.11% after training. For trainees who had not experienced OBE, the accuracy rates were 71.38% before training and 77.25% after training. The accuracy rates were higher after training compared to before training, with statistically significant differences (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Scenario simulation training exhibits significant advantages in improving accuracy due to its strong practicality, high level of participation, and timely feedback. The self-protection awareness, knowledge on OBE management, and standard precaution among healthcare trainees were enhanced through the training, and operational content can achieve better results through scenario simulation training.

Introduction: Learning style denotes a learner's approach to acquiring, processing, interpreting, organizing, and contemplating information. VARK, formulated by Fleming and Mills (1992), assesses learning styles: Visual (V), Aural (A), Reading/Writing (R), and Kinesthetic (K). Visual learners prefer observing; Aural learners favor listening to lectures; Reading/Writing learners engage through texts and notes; Kinesthetic learners benefit from tactile activities.

Purpose: To compare learning style preferences of undergraduate health sciences students with other disciplines and examine the relationship between VARK scores and academic performance.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 347 undergraduate students recorded demographic data and responses to the Arabic version of the VARK questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27 which included descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: Unimodal preferences were most common, ranging from 47.4% to 51.4% in the College of Health Sciences and 11.8% to 15.0% in the College of Law as the least. Quadmodal preferences were rare but more frequent in Health Sciences and Engineering. Auditory (A) was the most preferred unimodal style (Mean/SD - 3.72/2.181), while kinesthetic (Mean/SD - 0.54/.864) was the least preferred. Mann-Whitney U-test results indicated Health Sciences students scored higher in K (Z = -4.558, p<0.001) and total VARK scores (Z = -3.633, p<0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in CGPA between unimodal and multimodal learners (Z = -2.150, p=0.032), with unimodal learners ranking lower.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that multimodal learners outperformed unimodal learners, even though unimodal learners constituted a larger group. The Health Sciences and Engineering students exhibited marginally higher Quadmodal learning preferences than other disciplines, indicating the need for comprehensive and engaging learning experiences. These results have practical implications for educators, who should consider learning styles to enhance teaching strategies, address unique student challenges, and create an inclusive educational environment.

Background: Reproductive health issues remain a serious concern, especially for university students. The problem occurs due to a lack of knowledge about three primary threats to adolescent reproductive health, namely, sexuality, HIV / AIDS, and drug abuse, which will affect the attitudes and practices that university students will adopt related to reproductive health. This study aims to analyze the effect of reproductive health education through videos and e-leaflets on improving students' reproductive health knowledge, attitudes, and practices. The hypothesis for this study was to explore the differences in knowledge, attitudes, and practices before and after the intervention.

Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental design. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from four universities in the Jatinangor District. 166 female first-year university students were divided into the study group through video (n = 83) and the control group through e-leaflet (n = 83). A structured questionnaire assessed reproductive health knowledge, attitude, and behavior before and after the intervention. SPSS version 27.0 was used to analyze the data.

Results: This study showed that university students' knowledge, attitudes, and practice increased significantly after the intervention (p<0.001). The comparison results between the intervention group and the control group did not show a significant difference in knowledge improvement (p>0.001); however, they showed differences in attitude and behavior improvement (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Reproductive health education through video and e-leaflets is equally effective in improving first-year students' knowledge, attitude, and practice. University support is necessary for reproductive health education among students.

Background: Tabletop Disaster Exercise (TDE) is a unique learning method through simulation designed to improve disaster preparedness. It is used every year to train health workers and students in disaster preparedness. However, no review has summarized the potential of TDE.

Purpose: This review aimed to identify the potential of using TDE to improve disaster preparedness among health workers and students.

Methods: A scoping review was used by following the guidelines of The PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A literature search was conducted using five primary databases: CINAHL, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Taylor and Francis, and one search engine, Google Scholar. The keywords were "health workers OR health professionals AND nursing student OR Student AND tabletop exercise OR tabletop disaster exercise AND Disaster preparedness". The inclusion criteria were full-text articles that can be accessed and published in English and primary studies.

Results: This scoping review includes 12 articles. Most of the studies included in this review employed quasi-experimental or pre-experimental designs. The studies were conducted across a variety of countries, including Indonesia, United States, Australia, Iran, Greece, Korea, Qatar, and India. The potential of TDE in improving disaster preparedness is divided into two groups: health workers and students. TDE can improve students' knowledge, attitudes, self confidence and disaster preparedness. In addition, for health workers, TDE improves knowledge, attitudes, awareness, competence, understanding of roles in disaster management, preparedness, performance, triage skills, and self confidence in managing disaster incidents.

Conclusion: TDE, as a disaster management learning method, has great potential to improve disaster preparedness, emergency response, and the ability of health workers to deal with disasters. Nurse managers can design TDE based training and work with educational institutions to integrate it into the curriculum.

Purpose: Patient safety (PS) is a basic principle of healthcare worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, medical colleges have integrated PS modules into their regular curricula. This study investigated undergraduate medical students' and interns' attitudes regarding PS at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah.

Methods: The survey was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, Rabigh, KAU, Jeddah. Data were collected using the APSQ-III online questionnaire from medical students and interns. The questionnaire comprises 26 items covering various PS issues across nine domains.

Results: 493 students and interns participated (233 females, 47.3%, and 260 males, 52.7%). The participants were distributed as follows: 114 (23.1%) from the fourth year, 102 (20.7%) from the fifth year, 145 (29.4%) from the sixth year, and 132 (26.8%) interns. The participants' scores on most items showed a negative attitude. A gender comparison showed that males mean score was significantly higher than females in the few key domains such as "patient safety training received" (p = 0.001), "working hours as a cause of error" (p = 0.002), "team functioning" (p < 0.001), "patient involvement in reducing errors" (p = 0.002), and the "importance of patient safety in the curriculum" (p < 0.001). No significant variance was noticed between interns' and medical students' mean scores across the nine key domains.

Conclusion: The findings highlight that most participants' attitudes needed to be more positive. Gender disparities were found in PS attitudes among Saudi medical students and interns, while no significant variance was noted between interns' and medical students' scores.

Background: Feedback is defined as the regular mechanism where the effect of an action is to modify and improve the future action. Feedback is essential for developing students' competencies and their future work as professionals. The attention of feedback shifted from teachers' feedback techniques to learners' goals, acceptance, and assimilation of feedback and impact-focused approaches. This study explored the perceptions of medical students and faculty regarding the importance of constructive feedback and the process of feedback in medical education.

Methods: An explanatory, sequential, mixed-method approach was used, beginning with a survey followed by interviews. This study was conducted at Defense Services Medical Academy (DSMA), Myanmar, and Avalon University School of Medicine (AUSOM), Willemstad, Curacao, from November 2021 to October 2022. For the quantitative phase, 75 students of Phase I, M.B.B.S. program, 28 faculty from DSMA. 63 students of the M.D. program, and 13 faculty from AUSOM responded to the questionnaire survey. For the qualitative phase, ten students and ten faculty members from each university used in-depth interviews. We used MAXQDA software for thematic analysis.

Findings: Survey results showed that most faculty and students strongly agree that feedback is essential for students' learning and should highlight both strengths and weaknesses of student performance. Thematic analysis resulted in five themes: opinions regarding the feedback, obstacles in obtaining constructive feedback, incorporating constructive feedback to future professions, implementing feedback, and comparing the views of students and professors. The students wanted immediate feedback after the examinations. They preferred one-to-one feedback instead of group feedback, but the faculty was concerned about time limitations in providing constructive one-to-one feedback.

Conclusion: The students and faculty agree that constructive feedback is essential to improve performance. The students at both institutes preferred precise comments regarding performance. The barrier both faculty and students faced around giving and receiving feedback was time.

Introduction: The learning methods employed in medical education have substantially transformed from traditional face-to-face (FTF) instruction to online learning modalities. This study sought to quantitatively compare the impact of three learning methods on the academic performance of first-year medical and health sciences students enrolled in a Medical Terminology (MT) course. The learning methods examined include the FTF method, the online-synchronized method, and a blended learning method that combines elements of both. The scope of the analysis encompasses the academic years 2019, 2020, and 2023.

Methods: Academic performance was measured using overall scores and scores derived from the letter grades of 2446 first-year students assigned to the three learning methods that were compared.

Results: A significant improvement in 2023 was observed in the blended learning method, which consisted of 30% FTF and 70% online synchronized lectures for overall scores (p < 0.0) and the scores based on the A grades (p < 0.0) of students in the MT course, compared to the FTF learning method in 2019 or the online synchronized learning method in 2020.

Conclusion: The blended learning method, which combines FTF with online synchronized learning, appears to be a more effective method for enhancing the academic performance of first-year students compared to either the traditional FTF method or the solely online synchronized method.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the perceptions of senior medical students and recent graduates from College of Medicine (CMED) at Qatar University regarding their undergraduate education and training related to prescribing, their confidence in achieving the learning outcomes specified in the curriculum and their preparedness to prescribe in practice.

Patients and methods: This was a cross-sectional web-based survey with qualitative elements, utilizing a 22-item pre-validated questionnaire developed through a multi-phase iterative process. The survey was administered to all senior medical students (year 4-6) and recent graduates of CMED at Qatar University.

Results: One hundred sixty-seven medical students and graduates responded to the survey (response rate ~45%). Overall, the participants expressed positive attitude towards curricular content related to prescribing that aimed to prepare them for practice, including pharmacology and therapeutics, history-taking, physical examination, diagnostic investigations, application of evidence-based medicine, and other skills. Over 60% of the participants believed that the prescribing components of the undergraduate curriculum made them competent in providing safe and effective prescriptions in practice. Notably, there was an association between seniority and perceived curricular effectiveness, highlighting the impact of clinical experience on participants' views. Recommendations for curriculum enhancement focused on practical integration, contextualized education, and a holistic approach to both theoretical and clinical learning.

Conclusion: The study revealed positive opinions regarding curricular content related to prescribing and identified areas for improvement in medical curriculum. Continuous monitoring, evaluation and refinement based on participants' feedback are crucial for ensuring the preparedness of medical graduates for safe and effective prescribing in real-world clinical practice.

Background: Videolaryngoscopes increased the safety of patients requiring endotracheal intubation. Their particular beneficiaries are healthcare providers inexperienced in intubation. We compared the learning curve of McGrath, UESCOPE, and Airtraq VLs among the first-year anesthesiology residents.

Methods: Sixteen residents were qualified for the study, none of whom has ever before used any VL nor had any experience with the Macintosh laryngoscope. The study was conducted during anesthesia without anticipated intubation difficulties and included 288 adult patients with BMI <25 and ASA ≤ II, without visible intubation difficulties. It was a randomized, controlled, and blinded crossover study. Each resident performed six intubations with a given VL in randomized order.

Results: There were no statistically significant differences in patient characteristics. In McGrath there was observed significant improvement of intubation time, confirmed intubation time, ease, POGO scale, effective intubation, thyroid pressure application, and intubation trauma. Intubation efficacy increased from 12 (75%) at first attempt, to 16 (100%) during third and following attempts. Residents used pressure 6 times (38%) during first attempt and 7 times (44%) during second attempt, and 1 (6%) at last attempt. McGrath traumatism was noticed in 4 (25%) patients at first two attempts, none during third and following attempts. In Airtraq, we observed a significant improvement of intubation time, time of confirmed intubation, force used, ease, effective intubation, and application of pressure to thyroid cartilage. Intubation efficacy increased from 10 (62%) during the first to 16 (100%) during the following attempts. Thyroid pressure was applied 7 times (44%) during first intubation and 0 times during the last two attempts. In the case of UESCOPE VL, we observed a significant improvement of intubation time, time of confirmed intubation, force used, and ease.

Conclusion: Results demonstrated that Airtraq VL having the best learning curve, and UESCOPE having the best first-time use. The results require confirmation in a larger study group. This study was approved on 14 November 2023 by the Medical University of Lodz Bioethics Committee (ref: RNN/160/23/KE).

Facing resource shortages and increasing gaps between regions and populations during the 20th century, around the 70s, the Chinese government authorized local governments to independently operate their own medical system, including medical education, to provide basic medical services and meet healthcare needs. These multiple independent but unparallel medical education systems throughout the nation inevitably created education quality disparities. Around the beginning of the 21st century, the Chinese government started a medical education standardization reform. This study aims to review and critically analyze these reform efforts toward standardization in medical schools and postgraduate and continuing education. All the background information, data, findings, government measures, etc. presented in this article were obtained through literature searches on PubMed, Baidu Scholar, and respective official online documents. Some of the key search criteria are, but not limited to, medical education reform in China and medical education history in China. These data were accessed in 2022. Standardization has been the core of reform in all three phases of medical education in China since the beginning of the 21st century. The three/five/eight principle, which refers to years of medical school, has been the backbone of medical school education in pursuing the "2030 healthy China" goal. The government streamlined postgraduate education further by establishing official licensing examination and launching a five+three+X model, which represents years required for medical school education, standardized residence, and specialty training, respectively. The standardization of continuing education is ongoing. Official and unified appraisal tests are in the pilot stage, whereas other areas have yet to change. Hopefully, this study will provide insight for future reform or research, or inform other countries.