Medical Education Online

Leveraging learning science to improve student outcomes in asynchronous online medical terminology education
Scott K, Young J, Barbee J and Nahikian-Nelms M
Online instruction within higher education is a growing trend. Asynchronous online courses vary widely in design elements. Research is needed to evaluate the impact of course design on student outcomes. A large, asynchronous undergraduate medical terminology course was modified to increase authentic language use, student interaction, formative feedback, retrieval practice, and metacognition. The purposes of this study were to describe modified course design elements and evaluate the impact of modifications on student outcomes compared with a standard course implemented concurrently.
Biometrically measured sleep in medical students as a predictor of psychological health and academic experiences in the preclinical years
Oberleitner LM, Baxa DM, Pickett SM and Sawarynski KE
Student wellness is of increasing concern in medical education. Increased rates of burnout, sleep disturbances, and psychological concerns in medical students are well documented. These concerns lead to impacts on current educational goals and may set students on a path for long-term health consequences.
The pattern of reporting and presenting validity evidence of extended matching questions (EMQs) in health professions education: a systematic review
Taha MH, Mohammed HEEG, Abdalla ME, Yusoff MSB, Mohd Napiah MK and Wadi MM
The Extended matching Questions (EMQs), or R-type questions, are format of selected-response. The validity evidence for this format is crucial, but there have been reports of misunderstandings about validity. It is unclear what kinds of evidence should be presented and how to present them to support their educational impact. This review explores the pattern and quality of reporting the sources of validity evidence of EMQs in health professions education, encompassing content, response process, internal structure, relationship to other variables, and consequences. A systematic search in the electronic databases including MEDLINE via PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, and ERIC was conducted to extract studies that utilize EMQs. The framework for a unitary concept of validity was applied to extract data. A total of 218 titles were initially selected, the final number of titles was 19. The most reported pieces of evidence were the reliability coefficient, followed by the relationship to another variable. Additionally, the adopted definition of validity is mostly the old tripartite concept. This study found that reporting and presenting validity evidence appeared to be deficient. The available evidence can hardly provide a strong validity argument that supports the educational impact of EMQs. This review calls for more work on developing a tool to measure the reporting and presenting validity evidence.
"A safe, non-judgmental space where I can really challenge myself:" learner experiences in a virtual, case-based diagnostic reasoning conference for students
Penner JC, Alemán MJ, Anampa-Guzmán A, Berkowitz AL and Nematollahi S
Case-based diagnostic reasoning conferences, like morning reports, allow undergraduate medical trainees to practice diagnostic reasoning alongside senior clinicians. However, trainees have reported discomfort doing so. Peer-assisted learning offers an alternative approach. We describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a virtual, student-only diagnostic reasoning conference that leverages peer-assisted learning. Student virtual morning report's (VMR) design was informed by social and cognitive congruence and experience-based learning. We evaluated participant experiences using a survey focused on participant perceptions of Student VMR's value, their methods for participation, and their preferences for Student VMR compared with VMR with more senior clinicians. 110 participants (28.9%) completed the survey. 90 participants (81.2%) reported that Student VMR was educational. Compared to VMR, participants reported being more likely to participate in Student VMR by turning on their video (50.0%), presenting a case (43.6%), verbally participating (44.5%), or participating in the chat (70.0%). Strengths included a safe learning environment to practice DR and the opportunity to engage with an international learning community. When asked whether they preferred Student VMR or non-Student VMR, most respondents (64.5%, 71/110) identified that they did not have a preference between the two. A student-focused DR conference may offer a valuable complement to, but not a replacement of, apprenticeship-based DR case conferences.
The Transformative Care Continuum: implementing an accelerated pathway that addresses the new roles of the family medicine physician
Chrisman-Khawam L, Snyder S, Tyler C, Harley D, Davidson E, Anthes L and Casapulla S
The Transformative Care Continuum (TCC) emerged in 2018 at Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, combining a three-year medical education track with a three-year family medicine residency. TCC aligns evolving family physician roles through the Kern model, AMA's Master Adaptive Learner model, Health Systems Science Training, and Kirkpatrick's evaluation model.
Operationalizing a 3-year standalone, accelerated medical school curriculum to nurture physicians to become primary care and health system leaders
Quintos-Alagheband ML, O'Donoghue O, Ayala GM, Carsons S, Miyawaki N, Asuncion A, Faustino F, Janicke P, Berger J, Ribeiro Miller D, Castiglia C, Harnick I and Shelov S
The United States faces a shortage of primary care physicians. To address this, there have been pioneering efforts to develop accelerated pathways with a primary care focused curriculum for undergraduate medical education. The New York University Grossman Long Island School of Medicine (NYU GLISOM) was conceptualized as the first standalone, accelerated, tuition-free program in the US in over 100 years, with mission-centered curriculum on primary care and health system leadership. The aim of this article is to map the process for the development of a three-year integrated curriculum, describe the pedagogical approach that guided the design of the longitudinal courses, share the student and faculty's perspective about the curriculum, and describe the early outcomes of the first two graduate classes. A major key driver for curricular design is integrating longitudinal courses of Clinical Ambulatory Practice Experience (CAPE), Health Systems Science (HSS), and Learning Community - Social Sciences, Humanities, Ethics and Professionalism (LC-SHEP) over three years and active learning through Problem Based Learning (PBL). We have successfully operationalized an accelerated, standalone, integrated medical school curriculum mission-centered on primary care and health system leadership. Our outcomes reveal a higher percentage (76% N =45) of NYU GLISOM students entering primary care compared to national benchmarks. The integration of the longitudinal courses of HSS, LC-SHEP, and CAPE is a key pillar to reinforce the tenants of primary care and health system leadership. Focused interview of graduates from the pioneer cohort consistently stated that the longitudinal courses prepared them well for residency in primary care and as a health systems' change agent. Despite the challenges of an accelerated program, NYU GLISOM successfully integrated the longitudinal courses with optimal performance and achievement of educational program objectives. Our experience can serve as a model for innovation and design of an accelerated three-year primary care curriculum.
Prevent and report: a qualitative inquiry of student and faculty recommendations for preventing and reporting learner mistreatment
Colón-López A, Parish A and Zinski A
Many medical schools in the United States (US) have employed policies and programming to prevent mistreatment and encourage students to report mistreatment events. Yet, there is little evidence showing a large-scale decrease in mistreatment behaviors overall, and, in many cases, mistreatment events go unreported. This study examines views from medical students and faculty for preventing mistreatment during medical training, as well as strategies for encouraging learners to report mistreatment events when they occur. We conducted in-depth interviews and focus groups with students and faculty ( = 25) and compared and contrasted perspectives. To prevent mistreatment, both students and faculty recommended institutional-level guidance and behavioral expectations during training, while faculty suggested educational programming focused on clarifying mistreatment definitions and cultivating awareness. To encourage reporting of mistreatment events, students and faculty emphasized: access to an array of reporting mechanisms, institutional processes for maintaining anonymity or confidentiality, and follow-up procedures to address reported mistreatment. Our results suggest that students' and faculty's role in medical education may shape their perceptions of strategies to prevent mistreatment. These results can inform the development and customization of interventions for preventing mistreatment and encouraging mistreatment reporting.
An interprofessional postgraduate quality improvement curriculum: results and lessons learned over a 5-year implementation
Dolansky MA, Edmiston EA, Vehovec A, Harris A and Singh MK
Quality Improvement (QI) is interprofessional by nature; however, most academic QI programs occur in silos and do not leverage the opportunity to bring interprofessional learners together.
The influence of hierarchy as an Implicit curriculum on medical trainees during the COVID-19 pandemic
Qasem F and Gordon L
Understanding the hierarchy in medical education is considered one of the hidden curriculum agendas that help to guide the medical trainees throughout their careers in healthcare. However, many negative aspects to the hierarchy and a few positive aspects have been uncovered in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic had a tremendous impact on the healthcare system, deploying healthcare workers, including trainees from their primary speciality training to help caring for COVID-19 patients. The effect of hierarchy on medical trainees in such situations has not been discussed before. This study aims to uncover whether the COVID-19 pandemic emergency had any impact on the hierarchical system among healthcare workers.
Enhancing team development in an internal medicine resident continuity clinic
Wingo MT, Halvorsen AJ, Leasure EL, Wallace JA, Huber JM, Mathias TR and Thomas KG
Interprofessional teamwork is important for the provision of safe, high value patient care and is recognized as essential by the ACGME. We aimed to assess the impact of an interprofessional continuity clinic teamwork curriculum on perceptions of team development and patient safety. This project was conducted in an IM Resident Continuity Clinic where 96 residents, supported by 28 faculty and 48 interprofessional team members, attended continuity clinic two afternoons per week during alternating months of a 50/50 outpatient-inpatient training model. Teams were configured into two groups of residents, faculty and interprofessional team members. The randomly selected intervention group participated in strategically-timed TeamSTEPPS training. The control group received usual clinic education. Teamwork and safety climate were measured using the Team Development Measure (TDM) and Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) collected before and after the intervention. Following the teamwork curriculum, team development improved in the intervention group as compared to control [mean change (95% CI) +13.9 (+9.3, +18.6) versus + 4.8 (+0.4, +9.1),  = 0.007]. Though 30% of the individual items on the SAQ improved significantly in the faculty intervention group as compared to control, the overall improvement in SAQ [intervention mean change + 0.4 (+0.2, +0.5), control mean change + 0.2 (-0.1, +0.5)] was not statistically significant ( = 0.36). It is feasible to implement a TeamSTEPPs-based interprofessional teamwork curriculum among IM residents in a block clinic model and achieve enhanced teamwork and safety attitudes. Additional assessment of clinical and educational outcomes is ongoing.
Improving medical students' responses to emergencies with a simulated cross-cover paging curriculum
Heidemann LA, Kempner S, Kobernik E, Jones E, Peterson WJ, Allen BB, Wixson M and Morgan HK
New residents are often unprepared to respond to medical emergencies. To address this gap, we implemented a simulated cross-cover paging curriculum. All senior medical students enrolled in a required specialty-specific (internal medicine, procedures, emergency medicine [EM], obstetrics and gynecology [OBGYN], family medicine and pediatrics) residency preparation course (RPC) in 2020-2021 participated. Students received 3-6 specialty-specific pages that represented an urgent change in clinical status about a simulated patient. For each page, students first called a standardized registered nurse (SRN) to ask additional questions, then recommended next steps in evaluation and management. The SRNs delivered immediate verbal feedback, delayed written feedback, and graded clinical performance using a weighted rubric. Some items were categorized as 'must do,' which represented the most clinically important actions. Trends in clinical performance over time were analyzed using the Jonckheere-Terpstra test. Of the 315 eligible students, 265 (84.1%) consented for their data to be included in the analysis. Clinical performance improved from a median (interquartile range) of 59.4% (46.9%, 75.0%) on case 1 to 80.0% (68.0%, 86.7%) on case 6 ( < .001). The percentage of 'must do' items improved significantly, from 69.2% (53.8, 81.8%) to 80.0% (66.7%, 88,9%) ( < .001). Scores improved over time for all specialty courses except for EM and OB/GYN. Surveyed students largely found this to be a valuable addition to the RPC curriculum with a 4.4 overall rating (1 = poor to 5 = excellent). This novel curriculum fills important gaps in the educational transition between medical school and residency. The simulated paging platform is adaptable and generalizable to learners entering different residency specialties.
The importance of advising in an accelerated pathway program
Cangiarella J and Cohen E
In the last decade, there has been tremendous growth in the number of accelerated three-year medical pathway programs. The needs of accelerated pathway students are different from traditional students, and a robust mentoring program should be developed to address specific issues and guarantee student success. We describe a unique approach to the development of a mentoring program for accelerated three-year MD students at New York University Grossman School of Medicine.
Students' motivation and engagement in interprofessional education: the mediating role of peer relatedness
Ganotice FA, Mendoza NB, Dizon JIWT, Shen X, Lee JC, Chan E, Luk P, Manio MM, He Q, Khoo US, Lam MPS, Chan SCS, Chow AYM, Wang N and Tipoe GL
Students' peer relatedness is vital to their academic achievement and engagement. However, little is known about the mechanisms that can explain such a link in health professions education, especially in interprofessional education (IPE), where interprofessional socialization is promoted. To address the research gap in understanding the social dynamics embedded within IPE and their impact on crucial motivational outcomes, this study examines how peer relatedness (belonging) mediates the link between motivation (both intrinsic and extrinsic) and engagement in IPE.
The perceived long-term impact of peer teaching in the skills lab. A descriptive interview study
Avonts M, Michels NR, Vanderveken OM, De Winter BY and Bombeke K
Teaching is an essential skill for future doctors. Peer-assisted learning (PAL)-where students take up a teaching role at an early stage of their training-is widely used in medical curricula. No studies have explored the long-term perceived impact of peer teaching. Therefore, we aimed to determine how former peer teachers reflected on PAL and its perceived long-term impact. In this longitudinal descriptive study, we conducted 42 semi-structured interviews with 11 former peer teachers at the University of Antwerp. Five of them were interviewed 6 months after PAL; 6 of them 9 years after PAL. This latter group was also interviewed during PAL in a previous study. We conducted secondary analyses of previously collected interviews, consistently comparing the findings with new data gathered from the current interviews. Using realist thematic analysis, topic summary themes were generated. Former peer teachers reflected on their PAL experience with a lot of satisfaction. Those meanwhile working as residents are still passionate about teaching. Peer teachers experienced a gain in clinical examination- and professional skills in the long-term, facilitating a smoother transition to their internship. Our findings suggest that PAL selects diverse but committed students. The longitudinal data demonstrate how PAL initiates or stimulates different skills in diverse students, including public speaking, teaching, time management, and self-efficacy in specific clinical skills. Regarding the chicken-and-egg question, our study encompasses both longitudinal cases illustrating the pre-existing skill theory and cases demonstrating how achieved competences were induced by PAL. Former peer teachers experienced long-term benefits of PAL, which eased their transition into the internship. PAL has the potential to ignite a lasting passion for teaching, providing diverse and unique learning opportunities not only for the most talented and 'pre-selected' medical students but also for a range of dedicated future clinicians.
Education in lifestyle medicine for future physicians - a strategy to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease
Söderberg D, Kiessling A and Freyschuss A
There is a compelling need to improve all physicians' knowledge on lifestyle medicine (LM). This training needs to start early during medical education. This case report describes the feasibility and effects of integrating LM into an existing core curriculum of a Swedish undergraduate medical programme. A curriculum development project was organized using a six-step model: general needs assessment, targeted needs assessment, goals and objectives, educational strategies, implementation, and evaluation. New learning objectives regarding health, prevention and lifestyle medicine were formulated throughout the five-and-a-half-year programme. Learning activities and examinations were integrated in all courses with a structured progression and with focus on preventive activities in the workplace learning. The project was evaluated using student surveys of curricular quality, teacher survey of curricular content and integration in 2020, and an external review of adherence to the national qualitative target on preventive medicine. The project was executed during 2017-2018. Course evaluations and exit poll at graduation showed an overall high-quality student rating of education in prevention and in lifestyle counselling: on average, a score of 4.1/5 and 4.1/6, respectively. The teacher survey showed that over 70% of courses had a lasting increase in LM curricular content and that this content was to a large extent integrated into the existing course material. The external review concluded that the topic was well covered and integrated into the curriculum. LM could be successfully integrated into an existing medical programme curriculum with positive effects on student learning.
Bridging the procedures skill gap from medical school to residency: a simulation-based mastery learning curriculum
Branditz LD, Kendle AP, Leung CG, San Miguel CE, Way DP, Panchal AR and Yee J
The transition from medical student to intern is a recognized educational gap. To help address this, the Association of American Medical Colleges developed the Core Entrustable Professional Activities for entering residency. As these metrics outline expectations for all graduating students regardless of specialty, the described procedural expectations are appropriately basic. However, in procedure-heavy specialties such as emergency medicine, the ability to perform advanced procedures continues to contribute to the disconnect between undergraduate and graduate medical education. To prepare our graduating students for their internship in emergency medicine, we developed a simulation-based mastery learning curriculum housed within a specialty-specific program. Our overall goal was to develop the students' procedural competency for central venous catheter placement and endotracheal intubation before graduation from medical school.
Medical school service regions in Canada: exploring graduate retention rates across the medical education training continuum and into professional practice
Barber C, van der Vleuten C and Chahine S
To create medical school service regions and examine national in-region graduate retention patterns across the medical education continuum and into professional practice as one approach to advancing social accountability in medical education.
Collaborative 360° virtual reality training of medical students in clinical examinations
Davidsen JG, Vinter Larsen D, Rasmussen S and Paulsen L
Simulation-based training in computer-generated environments has always played an important role in clinical medical education. Recently, there has been a growing interest in using 360° videos of real-life situations for training in health professions. Several studies report positive results from using 360° Virtual Reality for individuals, yet there are currently no studies on collaborative 360° Virtual Reality training. In this paper, we evaluate how 360° Virtual Reality can support collaborative training in clinical medical education. The study population consisted of 14 medical students in semester 5 of their Bachelor's programme. The students were divided into three groups before watching and annotating a 360° video of an authentic learning situation inside a collaborative immersive virtual reality space. The original video shows a problem-based examination of the collateral and cruciate ligaments of the knee performed by students under the supervision of a professor. After training in collaborative 360° Virtual Reality, students then had to perform the same tests in a physical examination. The students' performance was subsequently evaluated by a professor with expertise in knee examinations. The results show that 12 out of 14 students received a score of 2 for one or more tests, thereby meeting the required learning objective. One student received a score of 1 and one student did not perform any of the tests. The students actively use the tools provided by the software and different communicative strategies when working collaboratively in 360° Virtual Reality, which enables them to perform the tests in the physical examination by transferring their constructed knowledge. The results indicate that our pedagogical design in collaborative immersive 360° Virtual Reality can become a relevant addition to face-to-face clinical medical training.
Communication skills of residents: are they as good as they think?
Shaikh NQ, Noorali AA, Merchant AAH, Afzal N, Lakhdir MPA, Abdul Rahim K, Shariq SF, Ahmad R, Bakhshi SK, Mahmood SBZ, Shah S, Khan MR, Tariq M and Haider AH
To evaluate the current communication skills of resident physicians and identify areas for improvement.
Online peer assessment in Galenic Pharmacy: enhancing evaluative judgement in higher education
Cano García E, Halbaut Bellowa L, Martins Gironelli L and Lluch Molins L
Assessment influences how students define their priorities and their commitment to the learning process. Assessment strategies can empower students to actively engage in metacognitive processes, fostering cross-curricular competencies. Mastery of these competencies not only enhances deep and meaningful learning but also prepares learners for the challenges of the ever-evolving knowledge field. However, developing evaluative judgement, the ability to critically and autonomously judge the quality of one's own work and that of others, is essential but challenging. The purpose of this study was to design and assess an online educational experience for Galenic Pharmacy students ( = 339) during the 2021-2022 academic year of the Degree of Pharmacy. Beyond content acquisition, the primary goal was to foster evaluative judgement as a pivotal component of the 'learning to learn' competence. A complex task with iterative deliverables was proposed, using peer assessment as the central tool for the development of evaluative judgement. Students were required to give presentations on methods of administering medicines and had iterative deliverables. They underwent multiple rounds of peer feedback. The task as well as peer assessment process were compulsory for all the students. The participating students voluntarily answered an ad hoc online questionnaire in relation to their perception of the overall experience of peer assessment. The outcomes showcased the positive impacts of peer assessment based on the roles of assessor and assessed. An improvement in feedback quality was observed from one iteration to another, and an enhancement of critical judgement was evident. Enhancing assessment literacy might be essential for both educators and students. For educators, this would allow them to set criteria more aligned with competencies, whereas students might place higher value on these practices and actively engage with the learning process. Such engagement is crucial for promoting lifelong autonomous and self-regulated learning.
Thinkings on the reform of medical education system in China
Tie H, Luo Y and Chen D
Different clinical medicine programs exist in China, which are mainly the 3-year junior college medical program, the 5-year medical bachelor's degree program, the 5 + 3 medical master's degree program, and the 8-year medical doctoral degree program. Medical graduates obtain different degrees from various medical programs, leading to inequality and polarization of the cultivation. The extended length of schooling discourages talented students from pursuing clinical medicine. The current situation has worsened due to the mismatch between clinical competence and promotion, as well as insufficient remuneration. The most critical reform measure is to establish separate degree systems for scientific research skill training and clinical training, which helps clarify the boundaries between these two. Students who receive academic postgraduate education obtain academic degrees, such as the master of medical science and doctor of philosophy; students who take part in the national standardized resident training, specialist training, or general practitioner training obtain professional degrees, such as master of medicine and doctor of medicine. It is imperative to consider shortening the duration of medical education, with an ideal limit of eight years on average. Optimizing the way to promotion and raising the expenditure of remuneration are also crucial. The reform of medical education system in China still has a long way to go and requires gradual adjustment and optimization.