BMC Medical Education最新文献

Background: Research active organisations achieve better healthcare outcomes. The Research ABC Project (Allied Health Professions (AHPs) Building Research Capacity Across the Black Country), funded from 1/8/23-31/3/24 by a Clinical Research Network West Midlands Improvement and Innovation grant, was commissioned to facilitate the Black Country Integrated Care System to address the four domains of Health Education England's AHPs' Research and Innovation Strategy for England (capacity, capability, context and culture). This evaluation aimed to understand research-readiness, initiate research skills development through bespoke training, increase research capacity of the local AHP Community and inform the Integrated Care Board of future requirements.

Methods: AHPs in six Black Country NHS Trusts, West Midlands, United Kingdom (n = 2396) were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey via Microsoft forms (October-November 2023). Baseline levels of engagement in research activities, existing research skills, barriers to engagement, and training needs were explored. Descriptive analysis and thematic analysis for free text answers were undertaken. Project outputs included bespoke training, shared digital space, and Research Champions identification and support; success of the project was evaluated.

Results: There were 440 eligible responses from 11 of 14 professions (response rate 18.4%) with over half qualified > 10 years. Qualifications ranged from diploma (5.9%), degree/BSc (40.2%), postgraduate credits (27.0%), and MSc (24.6%) to PhD (0.9%). Research outputs were limited: 85.9% had no publications, 83.8% no abstract submissions; only 6.8% had Chief/Principal Investigator experience. However, audit (83.6%), service evaluation (75.9%), and quality improvement (78.9%) activities were common. Main barriers to research engagement were work pressures (42%), commitments outside work (22%), deemed not applicable (14%), not supported (8%), and not interested (7%). Training needs and Research Champions (n = 93) were identified. Training sessions (n = 23) were attended by 169 AHPs and well-evaluated. The digital space facilitated networking (285 AHPs signed-up).

Conclusions: The Research ABC project identified baseline research levels for AHPs across the Black Country, and delivered training, with potential to develop research capability and capacity. Research Champions enable research, creating a supportive environment (context) and changing culture, addressing the AHP Research Strategy vision. The Research ABC model and GO-RESEARCH recommendations (developed from the project findings) could be adopted more widely to help drive AHP research forward; appropriate infrastructure and raising the importance of research is essential to achieve this in the future.

Introduction: Investigator-initiated trials (IITs) bridge the gap between applied clinical research and everyday clinical practice. However, they require the skilled multidisciplinary teams from different backgrounds but all with clinical trial training to ensure trials are designed, conducted and reported according to best practice and regulatory standards. The availability of trainings to fulfil these needs is limited. The CONSCIOUS II project facilitated to expand the supply of such programmes. The objective is to describe the curriculum designed for PhD students and early-career researchers, and evaluate participants' perceptions and feedback after completion of the training.

Methods: The curriculum was developed according to key principles that underpin building of competencies relevant to quality IITs and transdisciplinary skills. A multidisciplinary team created the curriculum, elaborated a comprehensive set of study materials, including the training platform. This team also conducted an international, collaborative pilot course. The effectiveness of the educational materials for the target audience was assessed through questionnaires administered after the pilot course. Additionally, all learning materials, including the video recordings of the pilot course, were externally evaluated.

Results: A 12-chapter thoroughly revised curriculum was developed for asynchronous preparation and served as a pre-class reading for a 3-month pilot course. The chapters, along with supplementary materials, and recordings of the pilot course are freely accessible on the CONSCIOUS II training platform. This platform facilitates the dissemination and implementation in the existing curricula. The feedback from both the pilot course participants and the stakeholders was uniformly positive across all survey aspects.

Conclusion: This remote programme which combines asynchronous and synchronous components with international and interprofessional collaboration effectively addresses the gap in developing core competencies for the 21st -century clinical researchers. The implementation of this curriculum has the potential to improve the quality of IITs.

Background: Virtual medical education has been used in the preclinical training of dentistry. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of orthodontic bracket bonding training using the haptic-enhanced virtual reality simulation system.

Methods: Twenty-six orthodontic postgraduates were recruited to attend the preclinical training using the virtual training system, consisting of the Virtual Learning Network Platform (VLNP) and the Virtual Simulation Training and Evaluation System (VSTES). Students were asked to perform the online training on VLNP within one week and the offline section on VSTES once each week for 6 consecutive weeks. Students' training outcomes were assessed using the 3D scanning data of the fixed bracket position before and after the training. Students were asked to provide feedback through a survey to identify their perceived benefits or drawbacks of this system. Student's t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare differences in the outcomes, including the total score and each tooth score, between the pre- and post-training and among each online or offline virtual training session. The level of significance was P < 0.05.

Results: The final online test scores of 'etching', 'rinsing', 'positioning bracket position', and total items in the online interactive virtual practicing using VLNP were 3-17% higher than those in the formative test (P < 0.05). Seven items of 'cleaning', 'coating acid etchant', 'etching time', 'rinsing off acid etchant', 'rinsing time', 'coating adhesive', 'positioning bracket position' and the total scores were significantly different among six offline results (P < 0.05). With the increased number of practices, the performance gradually improved. All post-training scores of bracket bonding demonstrated significant improvement, showing an increase of approximately 50% compared to pre-training scores (P < 0.05). Most students agreed that this system helped familiarize them with the clinical procedure due to its simulation of the real clinical environment (88.46%) and the availability of time and space for practice without limitation (76.92%). The majority agreed that their improved skills benefited from the offline system, which allowed them to adjust three-dimensional bracket position and receive the real-time feedback.

Conclusions: A virtual orthodontic training system with VLNP and VSTES could help students improve their clinical skills of orthodontic bracket bonding during preclinical training.

Background: Burnout is a condition closely linked to deteriorating mental health and diminished work performance. There is a lack of research on burnout among pharmacy faculty in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study aims to assess the burnout rate among pharmacy faculty members in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to identify predictive factors that contribute to or precipitate the onset of burnout.

Methods: A cross-sectional, anonymous electronic survey was distributed to all pharmacy faculty members in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The survey included the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey, which measures three dimensions of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Demographic data, Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators scores, and potential predictors of burnout were collected and analyzed.

Results: A total of 246 pharmacists participated in this study. Among them, 30.4% reported experiencing emotional exhaustion, and a similar percentage scored low on the personal accomplishment subscale. Additionally, 10.9% of the sample exhibited high scores on the depersonalization subscale. The burnout rate was found to be influenced by several factors, including citizenship, the presence of children in the household, and faculty members' academic rank.

Conclusion: Pharmacy faculty members at pharmacy colleges in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are experiencing significant burnout, particularly in the form of emotional exhaustion and low personal accomplishment scores. Key factors contributing to burnout include citizenship, the presence of children in the household, and academic rank.

Background: Several studies have suggested the benefits of pedagogical escape games for dental students but most have involved a limited number of participants and none was conducted in paediatric dentistry. This study aims to explore dental students' perceptions of the role of an escape room as an innovative pedagogical tool for enhancing motivation and consolidating learning in paediatric dentistry.

Methods: This study was conducted in April 2023 with all fifth-year dental students (n = 183), who were divided into 5-6 student groups to simulate the conditions of an escape room. Prior to entering the room, each student completed a 16-question true/false knowledge test to assess their general knowledge. Upon exiting the escape room, participants completed a 14-question appreciation survey. A descriptive analysis of the responses was performed, with results presented as percentages or means (and standard deviations) when appropriate, using R (version 3.6.1; R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria).

Results: The 177 students reported being motivated to review their coursework in preparation for the escape game (4.3 [± 1]) and truly enjoyed the experience (4.8 [± 0.4]). Immersive learning was found to be helpful (4.3 [± 0.8]), and the escape game was rated as effective in consolidating paediatric dentistry knowledge (4.6 [± 0.6]).

Conclusions: This study highlights the potential of educational escape games as an innovative and effective pedagogical tool in paediatric dentistry, serving as a valuable supplementary strategy to diversify instruction and enhance active learning in dental education.

Objective: To assess the potential of artificial intelligence reading label system on the training of ophthalmologists in a multicenter bimodal multi-disease study.

Methods: The accuracy of 16 ophthalmologists with study duration ranging from one to nine years across multiple annotation rounds and its correlation with the number of rounds and ophthalmology study duration were analyzed. Additionally, this study evaluated the concordance between optical coherence tomography (OCT) or color fundus photography (CFP) and final case diagnosis.

Results: The study involved 7777 pairs of OCT and CFP images, cases labeled with nine prevalent retinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy (DR, 2118 cases), retinal detachment (RD, 121 cases), retinal vein occlusion (RVO, 886 cases), dry age-related macular degeneration (dAMD, 549 cases), wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD, 1023 cases), epiretinal membrane (ERM, 1061 cases), central serous retinopathy (CSC, 150 cases), macular schisis (MS, 128 cases), macular hole (MH, 86 cases) and normal fundus (1036 cases) were selected for further analysis. All images were assigned to 16 ophthalmologists over five rounds. The average diagnostic accuracy for the nine retinal diseases and normal fundus improved significantly across the five rounds (p = 0.013) and is closely correlated to the duration of ophthalmology study (p = 0.007). Furthermore, significant improvements were observed in the diagnostic accuracy of both OCT (p = 0.028) and CFP (p = 0.021) modalities as the number of rounds increased. Notably, OCT single modal diagnosis demonstrated higher consistency with the final diagnosis in cases of RD, ERM, MS, and MH compared to CFP, while CFP single modal diagnosis has higher consistency in DR, RVO and normal fundus.

Conclusion: The implementation of an artificial intelligence reading label system enhances the diagnostic accuracy of retinal diseases among ophthalmologists and holds potential for integration into future medical education.

Background: Intergenerational transmission refers to the transfer of occupations, knowledge, or skills across generations. There is a consensus in the medical field that children of doctors are more likely to want to become doctors and that doctors from medical families are more likely to be trusted by their patients. This study explores the current state of intergenerational transmission in Chinese medical universities and its impact on students' academic and professional development, which towards more supportive policies for medical manpower development in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: A survey was conducted among 434 students at the universities of Chinese medicine in Beijing and Nanjing. This study assessed the prevalence of intergenerational transmission and its influence on student competencies in medical thinking, practice, and innovation.

Results: Approximately 18.66% of the students reported intergenerational inheritance of medicine, with 10.37% from direct lineage, 5.07% from collateral lineage, and 3.23% from other relatives. A majority (77.88%) of the respondents believed that doctors' family backgrounds positively impacted the learning and growth of medical students. Students with direct or collateral intergenerational inheritance demonstrated significantly higher innovation ability ([Formula: see text]=12.28, p < 0.05) and medical thinking skills (Coefficient = 9.52,p < 0.05) compared to those without such backgrounds. Regional factors and family inheritance influence students' overall competencies in medical studies.

Conclusions: Nearly one in five students had a family background in medicine, and most recognized its positive impact on their learning. Intergenerational transmission enhances innovation and medical thinking among students. Medical universities should incorporate intergenerational experiences into their training programs and encourage cross-cultural and intergenerational exchanges to develop students' critical thinking skills, practical skills, and innovation capacities.

Introduction: Gynecological cancers are often diagnosed at a late stage in Togo, due to difficulty of access to means of screening and a lack of technical platform. The aim of our study was to assess the knowledge of medical and pharmacy students at the University of Lomé about the risk factors for gynaecological cancers.

Methodology: This was a cross-sectional prospective study with a descriptive and analytical aim, carried out among undergraduate to doctoral students regularly enrolled at the Faculty of Health Sciences. The variables studied were as follows: the socio-demographic characteristics of the students, namely age, gender, field of study (medicine or pharmacy), study cycle (bachelor, master or doctorate), the fact of having completed an internship in the obstetrics gynecology department; the notion of education on gynecological cancers and sources of information and finally knowledge of the risk factors for gynecological cancers.

Results: A total of 640 students correctly completed the form. The mean age was 24.66 ± 2.7 years. The sex ratio (M/F) was 2.5. The students had a good knowledge of the risk factors for cervical cancer. Indeed 56.6% (n = 362) knew the risk factors of the cervical cancer; but knowledge of risk factors of ovarian, endometrial, vaginal, and vulvar cancers was low. The main source of information was the courses at the Faculty of Health Sciences. Factors associated with knowledge of risk factors of cervical cancer were age (p-value = 0.0002), female gender (p-value = 0.0001; ORa = 2.46; 95% CI [1.31-3.36]) and the fact of having followed a course on cervical cancer (p-value = 0.0073; ORa = 1.68; 95% CI [1.25-32.08]). Having done an internship in the gynecology department was the only factor associated with knowing the risk factors for ovarian cancer (p-value = 0.00001; ORa = 2.29; 95% CI [1,64-2.72]) and endometrial cancer (p-value = 0.0045; RCa = 2.63; 95% CI [1.56-3.07]).

Conclusion: The knowledge of risk factors of the gynecological cancer by the students of the Faculty of Health Sciences is relatively low, varying according to the type of cancer. More than half of the students knew the risk factors for cervical cancer. However, risk factors for ovarian, endometrial, vaginal and vulvar cancers were not sufficiently known by the students. It appears to promote self-learning for an improvement of this knowledge.

Trial registration: Not applicable.

Background: Adjusting clinical care to account for social risks and needs is vital to patient-centered care, but little attention has been paid to implementing it in routine practice. Kaiser Permanente co-designed and developed a continuing professional development (CPD) course to orient providers to adjustment activities, or social risk-informed care. We evaluated the dissemination and implementation of this course.

Methods: We evaluated the dissemination and implementation of the online CPD using the RE-AIM implementation framework and the Kirkpatrick model of evaluation for training and learning programs. Administrative records and completion reports were generated to track dissemination and completion. A pre- and post-survey design was utilized to assess provider changes in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and self-efficacy in delivering social risk-informed care, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to describe effectiveness of the online CPD, adoption of social risk-informed care, and sustainability of the online CPD and other Kaiser Permanente social health integration initiatives.

Results: From April 2022-February 2023, 82 individuals completed the online CPD; 52 participants completed the pre-survey and 38 completed the post-survey. A total of 17 interviews were conducted over two phases of qualitative data collection (passive dissemination versus active dissemination). Interviewees felt the online CPD provided foundational knowledge in social health and social risk-informed care but requested more region- and role-specific resources. They also identified several systems-level barriers to social health integration.

Conclusions: Co-designing medical education courses with various stakeholders is vital to ensuring relevant and effective educational material. However, high-quality, intentionally designed educational material needs to be complemented with multifaceted and targeted implementation strategies to achieve intended provider behavior change and improved patient outcomes.

Background: Pathology reports serve as the primary communication tool between pathologists and clinicians, directly influencing clinical decision-making and treatment strategies. Despite their critical role, medical students may struggle with interpreting these reports, which can lead to miscommunication and potential diagnostic errors. This study investigated the impact of incorporating a clinical pathology course into the routine medical curriculum to enhance medical students' understanding of pathology reports and their satisfaction with the course.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 92 medical students in their internship phase, who were divided into two groups: those who had completed the clinical pathology course and those who had not. The participants were provided with two pathology reports (covering malignant and benign gastrointestinal diseases) and a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 24 items. The data were analyzed via the chi-square test to assess significant differences between groups.

Results: Medical interns who completed the course demonstrated significantly higher rates of moderate interpretation scores (80.43% vs. 63.04%) and lower rates of weak scores (6.53% vs. 32.61%) compared to those who did not participate (p = 0.001). Interns who passed the clinical pathology course had a significantly greater mean number of correct answers for interpreting malignant cases reports (p = 0.04), although no significant difference was found for benign cases reports (p = 0.93). Most interns who completed the course reported that it helped improve their interpretation skills, although some felt that the perceived benefits were limited. Additionally, the study identified key challenges students still faced when interpreting pathology reports including difficulties with pathology report terminology, understanding cancer staging abbreviations, and applying basic pathology concepts in clinical context.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that clinical pathology courses can improve medical students' understanding of pathology reports, particularly in cases of cancer, but improvements in course content and teaching methods are needed. This research offers valuable insights into improving medical education.