Journal of Medical Education Development
Volume:16 Issue: 49, Spring 2023

Reflection plays an important role in the students’ learning. The present study aimed to assess the effect of reflection-based education on the thinking skills and performance of dental students.

This is a quasi-experimental study. A total of 34 dental students that passed basic science courses and entered the clinical departments have participated. Educational interventions based on Gibbs' reflection model were conducted through educational workshops and workplace-based education. The reflective thinking of students was assessed by a 16-item questionnaire in four domains of habitual performance, understanding, reflection, and critical reflection. The students’ performances were assessed by an observational examination. Data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical tests in SPSS ver.17. The significance level was P-value≤ 0.05.

The students’ score of reflective thinking before the educational intervention was 64.48±2.73 and after the training was 65.35±6.33. There were significant differences in the scores of the reflection domain before and after educational interventions. (p-value=0.01). The learning scores of students were reported 17.56 that significantly higher than the minimum pass level. (P-value=0.01).

Reflection-based education decreases the level of habitual performance and increases reflection among dental students. Therefore, it is recommended that reflection as a main component of clinical education throughout the practical courses be considered in dental schools.

Learning can be promoted through learning games since they are fun and amusing with a competitive nature that creates a stimulating atmosphere in the classroom. The educational system puts an emphasis on student ownership and creative thinking as critical factors in learning. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of crossword puzzles on the learning of operating room students in a hematology course.

The study was conducted based on a quasi-experimental pretest and post-test design with an intervention group (designing crossword puzzles) and a control group (solving crossword puzzles) at North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences in 2018. The participants were selected via the census sampling method. A total of 56 students were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. They were divided into seven groups of four. The intervention was administered during the first 15-20 min of the seven sessions. The data collection instrument consisted of a questionnaire divided into two sections: assessing satisfaction and determining procedural knowledge. PRISM Statistics (version 7) was used for statistical analysis. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The result of the independent t-test demonstrated that the crossword puzzle design group, compared to solving crossword puzzles, significantly improved the knowledge of hematology (P=0.0047). Paired t-tests illustrated that both groups had significant learning gains in the topics covered in the sessions (P<0.0001).

The crossword puzzle design in this study proved to be an effective method to engage students, resulting in higher participation. In this study, crossword puzzles proved to be an effective teaching tool for learning hematology concepts.

Despite the fact that knowledge enhancement workshops are held in medical sciences universities of the country, studies have shown that the status of programs and activities related to these workshops have not been evaluated. In this regard, the present study aimed to describe the experiences of faculty members from knowledge enhancement workshops held at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.

This inductive qualitative study was performed based on conventional content analysis from October 2021 to May 2022. The required data were collected through 18 in-depth semi-structured and in-person interviews with 16 faculty members of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. Participants were selected by purposive sampling method and the sampling continued until data saturation. The data were analyzed in MAXQDA software (version 10) using the Braun and Clarke method.

The interviews were divided into more than 401 open codes, 31 subcategories, 14 categories, and 2 main categories (themes). The themes that emerged included "challenges and weaknesses" and "solutions to improve the workshops". The theme of challenges and weaknesses was divided into eight categories, including the topic needs assessment, appropriateness of the content, methods of holding and teaching, registration in workshops, the time of workshops, the place of workshops, evaluation methods, and instructors of workshops. Moreover, the theme of solutions was divided into six categories, namely improvement of the selection process of instructors, usage of the capable and expert selection process of instructors, improvement of the topic needs assessment methods, modification of content matters, facilitation of information channels, and improvement of the categorization evaluation system.

The main goal of knowledge enhancement workshops is to improve the abilities of professors. Therefore, paying attention to the challenges, weaknesses and providing solutions can improve the quality of these workshops and also encourage the faculty members to participate in them.

During this COVID-19 pandemic a large number of institutes have undertaken an online assessment of medical students such as zoom meets, online objective structured clinical examination [OSCE] google forms, etc. The present study was undertaken to determine the perceptions and opinions of teachers towards online assessment so as to plan the future strategy regarding the assessment system.

An online questionnaire was validated and distributed among 120 teaching faculty of a tertiary care hospital in North India and informed consent was obtained. It consisted of standard Likert scale questions which comprised 22 questions. The questionnaire was grouped into 4 categories: demographics, Comparison between traditional and online assessment, Advantages and limitations, different teaching methods, and acceptance of online assessment. The responses were collected and analyzed by using descriptive analyses.

The mean age was 41.25 ± 9.35 out of which the majority were females (55%). Most teachers found online exams less stressful, within the COVID norms, and more comfortable. The main limitation was no interaction between the patients & students followed by poor internet connection. 70.30% of the teaching faculty prefers traditional face-to-face assessment to online assessment, 23.40% select the blended mode, and only 6.30% of teachers prefer online assessment.

The results from our study depicted that 70% of the teaching faculty prefer traditional assessment. The responses provided us with the viewpoint of the medical institute's teaching faculty, which will help us improve the logistic of the assessment program.

Perceived awareness and concern for mental health issues among students in Indonesia are still lacking, proceeding before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In order to gain future benefits, this study evaluates pre-clinical medical students' mental health during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on pre-clinical medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Islam Indonesia (FM UII), Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in April 2021. A total sampling method was employed. Participants completed online self-reported questionnaires, including socio-demographic data and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire to evaluate mental health. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analysis was performed.

A total of 273 pre-clinical medical students were included in this study. They suffered from depression (35.2%) and stress (40.3%) more than a third and about half suffered from anxiety (50.2%). Females were more likely to have depression (AOR: 2.22; 95%CI: 1.19 to 4.15), anxiety (2.56; 1.42 to 4.61), and stress (3.44; 1.81 to 6.54) than males. Anxiety was less common in medical students in their second (0.48; 0.23 to 0.98) and third (0.29; 0.13 to 0.67) years than in the first year. Being a third-year student was a protective factor for stress (0.38; 0.17 to 0.87).

A high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among pre-clinical students was observed. This study can become a reflection for educational institutions and policymakers to prepare good strategies to maintain pre-clinical students’ quality and mental health during and after COVID-19 pandemic.

Academic advising during study helps students to overcome problems, achieve educational goals, and enjoy success. The study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the success and failure of the academic advisor system at Tabriz Faculty of Dentistry from the perspective of faculty members and students.

In this cross-sectional study that was conducted in Tabriz Faculty of Dentistry in 2018, two researcher-made questionnaires were used to collect data after the confirmation of their validity and reliability. The questionnaires consisted of 20 questions, which included 10 items related to existing challenges and obstacles and 10 questions on proposed solutions. A total of 80 faculty members were selected via stratified random sampling method and 203 students were selected by simple random sampling. Thereafter, they completed the questionnaires. The results were analyzed in SPSS software (version 17) using descriptive statistics, percentage and mean, and the U-Man-Whitney test.

The most important obstacles from students' perspective were the advisor's unsuccessful experience over the past years (84.1%), followed by the lack of a management system 68.3%. Holding orientation workshops was the most frequent solution suggested by students (85.5%). The most important obstacle from professors' perspective was students' dishonesty with the advisor(86.3%). According to 83.8% of professors, the most practical solution regarding the exciting challenges was the allocation of sufficient time for the student by the academic advisor.

As evidenced by the results of this study, it seems that holding orientation workshops, gaining students' trust, and allocating sufficient time for each student can be effective in improving the academic advisor system.

The concept of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) and critical appraisal should be taught to undergraduate (UG) medical students so that future doctors can confidently assess the trustworthiness of the literature they read. In the current study, the understanding of biomedical research among Indian UG medical students was assessed.

The Cross-sectional survey questionnaire as a Google form was circulated via online mode (WhatsApp, e-mail) in December 2020. Any UG medical students including interns from India could voluntarily participate. We aspired to get more than 601 responses as this was the minimum sample size calculated for our study, but we analyzed 715 responses. The questions of this self-made questionnaire were framed for assessing participants' attitudes and knowledge about healthcare research, EBM, and critical appraisal. The data were descriptively analyzed in frequency percentage. Chi2 tests were used to compare the association between categorical variables.

Almost equal participation from all grades of the MBBS study, with almost equal gender distribution, and the mean (SD) age of the participants was 21.09(2.06) years. 22% wanted to do their post-graduation (PG) abroad. 59% surfed the internet for new subject knowledge. Teachers have never asked to refer to any journal for 66%. 14% have read journal articles at least once, with half of the understanding. No difference in biostatistics knowledge before and after its curricular teaching in Third MBBS part 1. Foreign PG aspirants were taking part in research activities more. 46% wanted to do training in critical appraisal, and 43% believed not having critical appraisal skills will affect their patient care.

Indian UG medical students lacked the skills of critical appraisal. There was a lack of motivation and support from teachers. This scenario needs to change with the systemic inclusion of the components of healthcare research and EBM in the curriculum.

The improvement of Iran's position as a developed country requires the enhancement of the efficiency of the scientific, research, and technological systems. Accordingly, universities must identify and determine the differentiation extent of their academic mission. This study aimed to determine the implementation of scientific supremacy strategies considering its differentiation extent in one of the universities in northwest Iran.

This study was conducted based on an exploratory mixed method. SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, And Threats)-QSPM (Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix) technique was used in order to determine the strategies to achieve supremacy. The internal and external factors at the university were identified through semistructured interviews with 10 academic experts up to data saturation. A questionnaire was then designed and provided to 40 faculty members in order to score the factors. In addition, the QSPM technique was used to evaluate and prioritize the selected strategies.

SWOT matrix analysis led to the identification of 34 factors. The final scores of the internal and external factors were estimated at 2.29 and 2.03, respectively. As a result, the university under study was placed in the WT (weaknesses and threats) zone. According to the QSPM matrix, the prioritized strategies were communication and interaction at different levels, development of human resources, development of financial resources, compilation of related documents, and establishment of rules.

According to SWOT analysis, the most important strategies to achieve scientific supremacy regarding university excellence are reinforcement of the strengths and exploitation opportunities by providing financial and human resources, establishing rules, and making comprehensive communication and interaction.

One of the main aspects of medical education is clinical education. Cognitive apprenticeship model as a principle of clinical education provides an opportunity for medical students to transform theoretical knowledge into a variety of cognitive, attitudinal, and psychomotor skills that are essential for patient care. The purpose of this study is to introduce the cognitive apprenticeship model, its dimensions, and its position in clinical education.

In this scoping review study, the keywords including Cognitive Apprenticeship Model, Clinical Teaching, and Medical Education were searched in Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Medline databases between 2009 and 2021. After removing duplicates and considering the direct relationship of the articles to the study’s aim, full texts were reviewed.

A total of 170 records were found, out of which 15 articles were finally examined from three aspects including, introduction of cognitive apprenticeship model, position of cognitive apprenticeship model in clinical education, and evaluation of cognitive apprenticeship model. A cognitive apprenticeship model is a powerful tool for applying theoretical knowledge to clinical experiences and practicing skills through observation, participation, clinical reasoning, and independent clinical practice.

Developing the educational competencies of clinical faculty members and providing suitable opportunities for them to apply the dimensions of the cognitive apprenticeship model in clinical education has positive effects on the effort, perseverance, and future performance of students.