Advances in Physiology Education最新文献

This article critically examines the exclusionary dimensions faced by the marginalized transgender, diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression (SOGIESC), and disability community in foundational medical physiology textbooks. A literature review of both international and Indian textbooks was conducted to identify stereotypes and other forms of discriminatory language. These linguistic choices are not neutral: they shape the attitudes of future health care professionals and contribute to the systemic inaccessibility of care for these communities. Our analysis revealed a pervasive presence of exclusionary terms and implicit biases that we feel perpetuate stigma, erase identities, and normalize marginalization of these population. Recognizing that merely correcting isolated terms is insufficient, we propose an Inclusive Language Textbook Audit Tool grounded in a multiloop learning framework. This tool moves from surface-level corrections (single-loop learning) to questioning underlying assumptions (double-loop learning) and transforming the cultural and institutional contexts that sustain exclusion (triple-loop learning). Embedding this framework in textbook audits offers a systematic path from tokenistic edits to systemic inclusion. We call on textbook authors, publishers, and educators to adopt this tool to ensure linguistic equity in medical education. Revising foundational texts is not only a matter of accuracy; it is an ethical imperative to cultivate a generation of health care professionals committed to equity, dignity, and justice for all patients.NEW & NOTEWORTHY A preliminary analysis of foundational medical textbooks for possible exclusionary or invalidating microaggressions and a proposed multiloop framework for auditing foundational medical texts through an equity lens are presented.

Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) is a structured, competency-based method for assessing practical skills. While OSPE is well established in clinical settings as Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), its feasibility and utility for formative assessment in preclinical subjects like Physiology in India remain underexplored. The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility, utility, and student perceptions of OSPE as a formative assessment tool for practical Physiology competencies. This mixed-methods study was conducted among 100 first-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students. Two OSPE assessments were conducted 1 mo apart. Core certifiable competencies on blood pressure measurement and neurological examination were assessed. Quantitative analysis compared student scores across both assessments. Student perceptions were documented using a feedback questionnaire. Narrative feedback from students was analyzed through thematic analysis. Students performed better on their second OSPE assessment than the first one (P < 0.001) for all but one of the six questions. This may partly reflect a testing effect from reassessment of similar competencies. Questionnaire responses indicated strong agreement on OSPE's fairness (80%) and relevance (97.3%), with 81.3% advocating for its regular use. Thematic analysis highlighted strengths such as objectivity and skill focus, alongside weaknesses (time constraints and limited feedback) and threats (logistical challenges and subject cooperation). OSPE is a feasible and effective formative assessment tool for Physiology within the Indian Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) framework. This work adds context-specific insights from a resource-constrained Indian setting, offering practical directions for sustainable OSPE integration.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study from India evaluates the impact of repeated formative Objective Structured Practical Examinations for assessing physiology competencies under the newly implemented Competency-Based Medical Education curriculum. Using a mixed-methods design, it demonstrates that OSPE not only improves student performance but is also perceived as fair, relevant, and skill oriented. Importantly, the study highlights the possible influence of the testing effect on performance gains and identifies context-specific challenges such as time constraints, subject cooperation, and logistical demands.

Identifying white blood cells (WBCs) is a critical skill for first-year medical students, but it is often challenging in the early years of medical education. Subtle morphological differences in size, granules, and nuclear shape can be confusing, especially when staining quality is inconsistent. Based on our teaching experience, we observed that during undergraduate practical sessions, students frequently encounter difficulty in achieving optimal staining quality, which often hampers accurate visualization and interpretation of cellular morphology. Reliance on color further increases the risk of misidentification. Hematology: Identification of Microscopic Observations version 1.0 (HIMO 1.0) is an educational game developed to address this challenge. Using black-and-white images, the game trains students to recognize WBCs based on reliable structural features rather than variable staining quality. Developed in Python, it presents randomly oriented images of WBCs and requires players to identify cell size, granules, nucleus shape, and overall type. A built-in database stores defining features of each cell type, enabling instant validation of user responses. Immediate feedback reinforces correct answers, supporting an iterative learning process. HIMO 1.0 provides a safe, engaging, and realistic environment for practicing WBC identification. While not a substitute for real smear examination, it strengthens foundational skills and complements traditional hematology teaching.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Hematology: Identification of Microscopic Observations version 1.0 (HIMO 1.0) introduces a black-and-white approach to white blood cell (WBC) identification, training students to focus on size, granules, and nuclear shape rather than staining. It uses a game-based format with instant feedback to make learning engaging and effective. This Windows computer-based game is available as an open educational resource, and anyone can use it.

Early exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through pathway programs leads to increased interest in its various fields, and games can improve knowledge acquisition and increase motivation. This study explored the effects of implementing new sessions on cancer biology and pathophysiology that included a bingo game in two different pathway programs for middle and high school-aged students. Ninety-six students participated in a new two-part cancer biology session taught by medical school faculty. One program's session was held in person, and one was held virtually. The study evaluated student perceptions of the sessions and their interest levels through pre- and postsessions surveys and knowledge acquisition through a multiple-choice quiz administered at three time points: before the lecture, before the bingo game, and after the bingo game. A one-way repeated-measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc analysis found a statistically significant (P < 0.001) increase from presessions to postsessions quiz scores but not between the individual time points. Whereas postsessions surveys showed that 65.06% of students reported an increased interest in pursuing a career in science, pre- to postsessions data showed a slight decrease in interest in areas such as health care and pathology. There were also significant differences in some perceptions based on the program, including content difficulty and usefulness of different session components. Supplementation of a bingo game to STEM-based pathway programs can make complex content more approachable to younger students and increase knowledge acquisition. Early exposure can initiate interest in STEM and health professions.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Integration of gamified learning into STEM pathway programs, especially in regard to cancer biology and pathophysiology, can improve knowledge acquisition and enjoyment of the content.

Mental health conditions can be highly relevant to a student's academic journey, given the challenges, and sometimes strengths, they can provide. However, medical school applicants may be unsure about whether to reveal mental health conditions in their application materials. Prior work has shown that medical school admissions committee members do not show bias against an applicant who revealed general mental health struggles on their application when explaining a unique instance of academic underperformance. However, it is unknown how admissions committees would perceive an applicant disclosing a specific stigmatized mental health condition. We used an audit design to examine medical school admissions committee members' perceptions of revealing bipolar disorder on a medical school application. We found no differences in how participants ranked an applicant's acceptability, competence, or likeability, but 25% of participants in the bipolar applicant condition did mention the applicant's bipolar disorder as a potential concern. The majority of participants in both conditions reported that an applicant revealing bipolar disorder would be perceived neutrally if done to explain a period of poor academic performance. However, many participants perceived that revealing would be detrimental if they do not highlight that they are managing the condition. Our results indicate that while revealing bipolar disorder in a medical school application to explain poor academic performance does not seem to affect acceptance, this decision still risks eliciting negative perceptions related to bipolar disorder.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first study to examine medical school admissions committee member perceptions about applicants revealing bipolar disorder, including what could make revealing beneficial or detrimental to their application.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Modern-day education emphasizes individual excellence and competitive rivalry, often at the expense of collaboration, curiosity, creativity, and meaningful communication. Integrating peer learning can foster a more humane approach to problem-solving through collective wisdom. Despite being fundamental to well-being, happiness is rarely emphasized in academic environments, contributing to a growing global mental health crisis among students. This personal narrative explores these concerns and proposes integrating real-world, impactful themes to make the physiology curriculum more relevant to contemporary times.

What should guide curriculum development for generalist undergraduate degrees such as biomedical science? In the absence of accreditation and a single clear graduate pathway, how can these degrees best prepare students for future work and study? Undergraduate biomedical science degrees encompass a wide range of disciplines such as anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, and physiology. To help guide curriculum development and renewal of the Bachelor of Biomedical Science undergraduate degree at Monash University, a Delphi survey methodology was utilized to identify and rate the importance of key knowledge, skills, and dispositions graduates should be able to demonstrate. A panel of 124 experts, including industry, alumni, biomedical researchers, and educators, surveyed in this study identified 33 knowledge, 37 skill, and 31 disposition items as important for biomedical science graduates. These novel findings indicate the prioritization of a broad foundation of knowledge and transferable skills. Qualitative data from the panel also provided a rich source of perspectives that can be used by course designers to inform curriculum design and implementation.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first study to use the Delphi survey method to report on desired biomedical science graduate knowledge, skills, and dispositions. The data show that biomedical science graduates should be able to demonstrate a broad range of skills and knowledge, with a focus on transferable skills and foundational knowledge that will set graduates up for success in future studies or workplaces.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an intervention, a "CURE lecture" approach, that introduced course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) strategies into the lecture setting. Rather than learning biological explanations from a traditional textbook, instead students studied primary literature curated in a reformed research-focused textbook and had discussions of data and experimental design. In control cohorts, reformed active and cooperative pedagogies were used in lecture to engage students in learning traditional textbook content. In experimental cohorts, "lecture" format was replaced with active and cooperative "journal club" discussions of published experiments. Prior studies examined use of research-focused Integrating Concepts in Biology (ICB) textbook readings in two sequential introductory biology courses. In this study, assessments focused on student learning gains after a single semester. Klymkowsky's Biology Concept Inventory with known misconceptions as distractors and Loznak's Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) instrument used for over a decade prior joined longitudinal tracking to evaluate impact of intervention. The ICB student cohort had higher scores (46.3% vs. 34.3%) than the control cohort on the concept inventory and on the MCAT questions performed comparably in the range achieved by peer control students since the year 2000. Longitudinal tracking revealed that ICB students immediately outperformed peers in their next biology course the following semester. The literature suggested that a two-semester ICB experience helped students better succeed, and these findings support that even a shorter exposure, of just a single semester, to the CURE lecture strategy is impactful to students.NEW & NOTEWORTHY A "CURE lecture" approach was used in physiology majors' first introductory biology course, where journal club strategies replaced lecture in class meetings. Rather than lectures on biological explanations from a traditional textbook, students constructed their knowledge via primary literature readings in a reformed textbook aided by discussions of data and experimental design. When assessed by a MCAT instrument, Biology Concept Inventory, and tracking student performance, the experimental student cohort outperformed the peer control cohort.

Autonomic function testing (AFT) is crucial for assessing autonomic nervous system integrity and diagnosing dysautonomia. However, AFT remains underrepresented in undergraduate physiology curricula worldwide. Limited evidence exists on how structured, skill-based AFT modules influence medical students' perceptions of learning within a competency-based framework. This study evaluated third-year medical students' perceptions of a structured AFT elective emphasizing experiential learning and faculty-guided skill acquisition and designed to bridge theoretical knowledge with clinical application. Ten third-year medical students participated in a 2-wk AFT elective combining lectures, hands-on testing, student presentations, and clinical case discussions. We employed a mixed-methods approach using structured questionnaires with 5-point Likert-scale items and open-ended questions. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively, whereas qualitative responses underwent thematic analysis. Students reported uniformly high satisfaction across domains, including clarity of objectives (4.83 ± 0.22), clinical relevance (4.93 ± 0.10), and hands-on sessions (4.81 ± 0.18). The pretest-posttest analysis following the first lecture showed significant improvement (mean difference = 2.75, P = 0.0017). Thematic analysis revealed seven major themes: experiential learning, theory-practice integration, faculty engagement, student seminars, Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) assessment, curriculum expansion, and clinical preparedness. We conclude that integrating AFT electives within competency-based medical education (CBME) frameworks can enhance engagement, reinforce physiology-clinic integration, and stimulate student interest in underrepresented domains such as autonomic testing. This pilot provides a replicable model for embedding experiential learning into undergraduate physiology education.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study presents a holistic systematic evaluation of an autonomic function testing (AFT) elective integrated into undergraduate medical education. We demonstrated that hands-on AFT training achieves high student satisfaction and enhances clinical confidence in the diagnosis of dysautonomia. The AFT teaching and assessment framework offers a replicable model for other institutions seeking to implement skill-based AFT electives. The findings of the study address a critical gap in medical education, where AFT remains underrepresented despite its growing clinical importance.