Comparison of students' encountered diseases and available diseases at clerkship sites by exploratory multivariate analysis: Are encountered diseases predictable?

BACKGROUND: Students in clerkship are expected to gain clinical expertise by interacting with real patients in clinical situations. Monitoring and predicting the students' encounter diseases (EDs) is important for providing an optimal experience. EDs should be compared with the available diseases (ADs) at the clerkship site and with the required diseases described in some guidelines for the clinical curriculum. AIMS: To explore the differences in ADs as learning resources among different types of clerkship sites and to investigate discrepancies between EDs and ADs. METHOD: A retrospective observational study used secondary data from government statistics to compare ADs of various types of observable clerkship sites by biplot analyses, which allowed multivariate comparisons. EDs collected from logbooks during clerkships at a university hospital were also compared with ADs across sites. RESULTS: The distributions of ADs differed according to institutional type, and EDs at Kyushu University Hospital were similar to the ADs for the category of hospitals in which it was placed. CONCLUSION: EDs at a clerkship site may be predictable to some extent by analysing the site's distribution of ADs, but further study is needed. Biplot is useful for visualising these types of statistical similarity.

Vital sign monitoring using human patient simulators at pharmacy schools in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To develop, implement, and assess an experience-based education program using human patient simulators to instruct pharmacy students in monitoring vital signs to identify drug treatment effects and adverse events. DESIGN: Medical emergency care programs using human patient simulators were prepared and facilitated practical clinical training in resuscitation, which required selecting drugs while monitoring changes in blood pressure, pulse, and arterial blood oxygen saturation. Training encompassed the monitoring of routes of drug administration, drawing of simulated blood, vital-sign monitoring based on a pharmaceutical universal training model, vital-sign monitoring devices and simulators, and medical emergency education using biological simulators. ASSESSMENT: Before and after bedside training, students were asked to complete a questionnaire to assess their understanding of vital sign monitoring and emergency care. Students successfully learned how to monitor routes of drug administration, vital signs, and pathological conditions. There was a significant increase in students' recognition of the importance of vital-sign monitoring. CONCLUSION: Experienced-based training using patient simulators successfully prepared pharmacy students to monitor vitals signs and identify drug treatment effects and adverse events.