Exploring lecturers' views of first-year health science students' misconceptions in biomedical domains.

Research has indicated that misconceptions hamper the process of knowledge construction. Misconceptions are defined as persistent ideas not supported by current scientific views. Few studies have explored how misconceptions develop when first year health students conceptually move between anatomy and physiology to construct coherent knowledge about the human body. This explorative study analysed lecturers' perceptions of first-year health science students' misconceptions in anatomy and physiology to gain a deeper understanding of how and why misconceptions could potentially arise, by attempting to link sources of misconceptions with four schools of thought, namely theories on concept formation, complexity, constructivism and conceptual change. This was a qualitative study where ten lecturers involved in teaching anatomy and physiology in the health science curricula at the University of Cape Town were interviewed to explore perceptions of students' misconceptions. Analytical induction was used to uncover categories within the interview data by using a coding system. A deeper analysis was done to identify emerging themes that begins to explore a theoretical understanding of why and how misconceptions arise. Nine sources of misconceptions were identified, including misconceptions related to language, perception, three dimensional thinking, causal reasoning, curricula design, learning styles and moving between macro and micro levels. The sources of misconceptions were then grouped together to assist educators with finding educational interventions to overcome potential misconceptions. This explorative study is an attempt in theory building to understand what is at the core of biomedical misconceptions. Misconceptions identified in this study hold implications for educators as not all students have the required building blocks and cognitive skills to successfully navigate their way through biomedical courses. Theoretical insight into the sources of misconceptions can assist educators in addressing potential hampering factors in the construction of coherent scientific knowledge.

Undergraduate acute care clinical competencies for managing acute care cases in adult patients within a South African in-hospital environment: A modified Delphi Study.

Introduction: With the increase of global population, there has been an increased demand for acute care services both locally and globally. In the absence of an acute care competency-based curriculum in South Africa, this study sought to identify the core competencies required by undergraduate medical students to safely manage adult patients within an acute care setting in a South African hospital environment. Methodology: The modified Delphi study comprised of three rounds. The traditional Delphi method, which uses the same participants across various rounds, was modified by using different stakeholders across the three rounds. Emergency Medicine (EM) specialist trainees (registrars) generated competencies in round one, which were provided to a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in undergraduate curriculum development in round two, using a 5-point Likert scale for rating their agreement-disagreement. Round three entailed inviting the round one contributors to anonymously comment, via online survey, on the competencies generated in round two. Results: A total of 34 EM registrars participated during round one and 7 curriculum development experts participated during round two. A total of 120 competencies were identified from the 3-round Delphi study; of these 103 (85.8%) were reached by "Strong Agreement"; 16 (13.3%) reached by "Agreement"; and 1 (0.8%) was undecided. Discussion: The results of the modified Delphi study contributed to developing a comprehensive list of undergraduate acute care clinical competencies set in a South African context. The value of engaging with medical practitioners at the forefront of delivering acute care in a South African healthcare environment who are exposed on a daily basis to the healthcare needs of society, became evident. The findings of this study highlight and reinforce the importance of contextual relevance during the curriculum development process. Conclusion: The modified Delphi method, based on three iterative rounds and feedback from experts, was effective in reaching consensus on the competencies required by undergraduate medical students to manage acute care adult patients safely within a South African hospital environment.

Strategies in overcoming racial and socio-cultural differences in the learning environment of post-graduate medical specialty training in South Africa.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Study problem The training of postgraduate medical students in the multi-racial landscape of South Africa has faced challenges given the need for relationships in personal mentoring and learning through legitimate participation in the community of practice (CoP), as part of cognitive apprenticeship training. A high failure rate in the exit examination had stimulated interest into understanding the nature of the learning environment. Aim and objectives The study explored conceptions of former students in a medical specialty program regarding the nature of racial and socio-cultural diversities in their learning environment, influences on learning, and how they responded to them. Methodology A qualitative enquiry using in-depth interviews with semi-structured open-ended questions and thematic analysis with a social constructionist approach of epistemology used for data analysis and interpretation. Findings Students conceived race, language, departmental culture and social identity as barriers in their learning. The lack of structured formative training with feedback, evaluation, personal mentoring, and supervision also emerged. Through resilience, adaptability, and maturity qualified students overcame these difficulties. Conclusion Current and future students may benefit by developing resilience when dealing with racial and socio-cultural differences, and findings support the inclusion of cultural competence and a multi-lens approach in medical specialty curricula.

Health Sciences undergraduate education at UCT: a story of transformation.

Undergraduate education and training in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town has become socially responsive. A story of transformation that is consonant with wider societal developments since the 1994 democratic elections, outlining the changes in undergraduate curricula across the faculty, is presented.