Insights into medical students' perceptions of work culture during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed method study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic brought about profound social changes that affected students worldwide. These changes had both psychological and economic consequences, and also led to the adoption of new teaching methods. It can also have an impact on work culture, which is the collective set of values, norms, and practices within a specific profession, shaping how individuals in that field behave, communicate, and identify with their work. The aim of the study was to examine medical students' perception of professional culture during the COVID-19 crisis when they voluntarily participated in the healthcare network established, outside of university placements, for the management of COVID patients. METHODS: A questionnaire study based on the vignette methodology was conducted among third-year medical students. Drawing from three scenarios in which students were variably engaged in crisis management, it included questions about their perceptions of the medical profession, their motivation, and their sense of belonging to the profession. RESULTS: 352 students responded to the survey. The pandemic had both a positive and a negative impact on students' perceptions of the medical profession. Cluster analysis using a k-means algorithm and principal component analysis revealed three clusters of students with different perceptions of the medical profession. The first cluster, which represented the majority of students, corresponded to a relatively positive perception of the profession that was reinforced during the pandemic. In the second cluster, students' perceptions were reinforced still further, and particular importance was attached to field experience. Students in the third cluster had the most negative perceptions, having been shaken the most by the pandemic, and they attached little importance to field experience. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis highlighted the importance of students being able to adapt and draw on a range of resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. This underscores the need for work cultures that support adaptability and coping. Further research is needed to understand its long-term effects on students' perceptions of the medical profession and to identify interventions that could support students in the aftermath of this difficult period.

Medical students' perception of simulation-based assessment in emergency and paediatric medicine: a focus group study.

BACKGROUND: Although simulation-based assessment (SBA) is being implemented in numerous medical education systems, it is still rarely used for undergraduate medical students in France. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) will be integrated into the national medical curriculum in 2021. In 2016 and 2017, we created a mannequin SBA to validate medical students' technical and psychometric skills during their emergency medicine and paediatric placements. The aim of our study was to determine medical students' perceptions of SBA. METHODS: We followed the grounded theory framework to conduct a qualitative study. A total of 215 students participated in either a paediatric or an emergency medicine simulation-based course with a final assessment. Among the 215 participants, we randomly selected forty students to constitute the focus groups. In the end, 30 students were interviewed. Data were coded and analysed by two independent investigators within the activity theory framework. RESULTS: The analyses found four consensual themes. First, the students perceived that success in the SBA provided them with self-confidence and willingness to participate in their hospital placements (1). They considered SBA to have high face validity (2), and they reported changes in their practice after its implementation (3). Nevertheless, they found that SBA did not help with their final high-stakes assessments (4). They discussed three other themes without reaching consensus: stress, equity, and the structure of SBA. After an analysis with activity theory, we found that students' perceptions of SBA underlined the contradictions between two systems of training: hospital and medical. We hypothesise that a specific role and place for SBA should be defined between these two activity systems. CONCLUSION: The students perceived that SBA would increase self-confidence in their hospital placements and emphasise the general skills required in their future professional environment. However, they also reported that the assessment method might be biased and stressful. Our results concerning a preimplementation mannequin SBA and OSCE could provide valuable insight for new programme design and aid in improving existing programmes. Indeed, SBA seems to have a role and place between hospital placements and medical schools.

Lessons from the impact of COVID-19 on medical educational continuity and practices.

The COVID-19 crisis necessitated abrupt transition to remote learning in medical schools. We aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on French undergraduate students and teachers, to identify practice changes, and to evaluate successes and areas for improvement of this remote learning experience. Data from 2 online questionnaires were analyzed with 509 participants among students and 189 among teachers from Sorbonne University. Responses to multiple choice, Likert response scale, and open-ended questions were evaluated. COVID-19 had negative impact on teaching continuity. Sixty-seven percent of students were in a dropout situation, and many suffered from psychological stress, leading to set up of a psychological support unit. Although most teachers (81%) and students (72%) had limited knowledge of digital resources, distance learning was quickly implemented, with a predominant use of Zoom. The analysis of several parameters revealed that students were significantly more satisfied than teachers by remote learning. Nevertheless, both students and teachers agreed to replace classical lectures by digital media and to promote in-person teaching in small interactive groups. This paper shares tips for faculty rapidly establishing remote learning. This comparative study of the students' and teachers' points of view underlines that new medical curricula should include more digital contents. We make recommendations regarding general university organization, equipment, and curricular development for long-term implementation of digital resources with reinforced relationships between faculty and students.

NeuroQ: A neurophobia screening tool assesses how roleplay challenges neurophobia.

BACKGROUND: Neurophobia is a chronic disease of medical students and junior doctors. Early detection is needed to facilitate prevention and management as this fear can negatively impact patient care. METHODS: We conducted a two-part mono-centric study at the faculty of Medicine, Sorbonne University, in Paris. Part one: a cross-sectional study to validate a newly constructed neurophobia scale, NeuroQ. Part two: a prospective longitudinal study to assess the impact of The Move on student neurophobia using NeuroQ. A population-based sample of second-year medical students of the 2019 and 2020 class of the Faculty of Medicine of Sorbonne University were invited to participate. RESULTS: NeuroQ incorporates the main themes of the neurophobia definition and demonstrates uni-dimensionality. Three hundred and ninety-five medical students participated in the study (mean age was 20.0 years, SD: 2.1 years) assessing the effect of The Move teaching on neurophobia. Two hundred and eighty-eight (72.9%) students were female. After the Move teaching the mean NeuroQ score was significantly lower compared to the baseline NeuroQ score (mean [SD] variation, -1.1 [2.6], p < 0.001). There was a 22.3% relative reduction in the number of neurophobic students after The Move teaching. CONCLUSION: Our results highlight the utility of NeuroQ in assessing (i) baseline neurophobia and (ii) the impact of pre-clinical educational interventions on neurophobia. Furthermore, we have shown the importance of pre-clinical educational interventions, such as The Move, in tackling neurophobia.

[Discrepancies in medical textbooks and their impact on medical school students]. / Discordances entre les référentiels des collèges d'enseignants en médecine et leur impact sur les étudiants en médecine.

BACKGROUND: Textbooks endorsed by national medical specialty societies and colleges are used as official references for faculty and national examinations. Oncology is transdisciplinary, practiced and taught by oncologists but also by other specialists. We aimed at identifying discrepancies between chapters on cancers in different official specialty textbooks and evaluating their impact on students. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Volunteer 6th-year medical students of the Sorbonne University faculty were paired and asked to list the discrepancies between all official specialty textbooks addressing a given cancer and then individually asked to evaluate the impact of discrepancies on their learning experience. RESULTS: In March 2018, the 17 cancers listed in the French medical school education program were addressed in 14 official specialty textbooks (2 to 4 textbooks/cancer). Out of a class of 390 students, 78 volunteered and were paired; each cancer was analyzed by 3 pairs of students (1 or 2 cancers/pair); 154 discrepancies were reported (range: 4-18 per cancer). Discrepancies induced doubt and anxiety in students; 85% considered that harmonization should be achieved for all topics of the national medical school program. CONCLUSIONS: Discrepancies between official textbook are frequent, generate anxiety in students and impact learning experience.

Miming neurological syndromes improves medical student's long-term retention and delayed recall of neurology.

Basic examination and diagnostic skills in neurology are important for every graduating medical student. However, a majority of medical students consider neurology as complex and difficult to master. We evaluate the impact a learner-friendly, innovative simulation-based training programme has on long-term retention and delayed recall of neurological semiology amongst third-year medical students from the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France. The 2013 class received standard teaching in neurological semiology. The 2015 class who received the same standard teaching in neurological semiology were also invited to voluntarily participate in The Move, a mime-based role-play training programme of neurological semiology. During the Move, students were trained to simulate a patient with a neurological syndrome or the physician examining the patient. Students were evaluated with an assessment thirty months after their neurological rotation, including 15 questions to evaluate long-term retention of neurological semiology, and 10 to test background knowledge in general semiology. The semiology test was performed by 366/377 students from the 2013 class (standard education group) and by 272/391 students from the 2015 class, among which 186 participated in The Move (The Move group) and 86 did not (standard education group). The mean neurological semiology score was higher in the 2015 class compared to the 2013 class (p = 0.007) and remained so after adjustment for the general semiology performance (p = 0.003). The adjusted mean neurological semiology score was 1.21/15 points higher [95% CI 0.66, 1.75] in The Move group compared to the standard education group, corresponding to a 14% better ranking. The Move programme improves medical student's long-term retention and delayed recall of neurological semiology. This learner-friendly interactive teaching may in turn enhance clinical proficiency of future physicians in neurological semiology.

Ultrasound-based teaching of cardiac anatomy and physiology to undergraduate medical students.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonography is a non-invasive imaging modality that offers the opportunity to teach living cardiac anatomy and physiology. AIMS: The objectives of this study were to assess the feasibility of integrating an ultrasound-based course into the conventional undergraduate medical teaching programme and to analyse student and teacher feedback. METHODS: An ultrasound-based teaching course was implemented and proposed to all second-year medical students (n=348) at the end of the academic year, after all the conventional modules at our faculty. After a brief theoretical and practical demonstration, students were allowed to take the probe and use the ultrasound machine. Students and teachers were asked to complete a survey and were given the opportunity to provide open feedback. RESULTS: Two months were required to implement the entire module; 330 (95%) students (divided into 39 groups) and 37 teachers participated in the course. Student feedback was very positive: 98% of students agreed that the course was useful; 85% and 74% considered that their understanding of cardiac anatomy and physiology, respectively, was improved. The majority of the teachers (97%) felt that the students were interested, 81% agreed that the course was appropriate for second-year medical students and 84% were willing to participate to future sessions. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac anatomy and physiology teaching using ultrasound is feasible for undergraduate medical students and enhances their motivation to improve their knowledge. Student and teacher feedback on the course was very positive.