How do the post-graduation outcomes of students from gateway courses compare to those from standard entry medicine courses at the same medical schools?

BACKGROUND: Widening participation (WP) for underrepresented students through six-year gateway courses helps to widen the demographic representation of doctors in the UK. 'Most students from gateway courses graduate, even though many enter with lower grades than standard entry medicine students.' This study aims to compare the graduate outcomes of gateway and SEM cohorts from the same universities. METHODS: Data from 2007-13 from the UK Medical Education Database (UKMED) were available for graduates of gateway and SEM courses at three UK medical schools. Outcome measures were passing an entry exam on the first attempt, Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP) outcome and being offered a level one training position from the first application. The univariate analysis compared the two groups. Logistic regressions, predicting outcomes by course type, controlled for attainment on completion of medical school. RESULTS: Four thousand four hundred forty-five doctors were included in the analysis. There was no difference found in the ARCP outcome between gateway and SEM graduates. Gateway graduates were less likely to pass their first attempt at any membership exam than graduates of SEM courses (39% vs 63%). Gateway graduates were less likely to be offered a level 1 training position on their first application (75% vs 82%). Graduates of gateway courses were more likely to apply to General Practitioner (GP) training programmes than SEM graduates (56% vs 39%). CONCLUSIONS: Gateway courses increase the diversity of backgrounds represented within the profession and importantly the number of applications to GP training. However, differences in cohort performance are shown to continue to exist in the postgraduate arena and further research is required to ascertain the reasons for this.

TEL Methods Used for the Learning of Clinical Neuroanatomy.

Ubiquity of information technology is undoubtedly the most substantial change to society in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and has resulted in a paradigm shift in how business and social interactions are conducted universally. Information dissemination and acquisition is now effortless, and the way we visualise information is constantly evolving. The face of anatomy education has been altered by the advent of such innovation with Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) now commonplace in modern curricula.With the constant development of new computing systems, the temptation is to push the boundaries of what can be achieved rather than addressing what should be achieved. As with clinical practice, education in healthcare should be evidence driven. Learning theory has supplied educators with a wealth of information on how to design teaching tools, and this should form the bedrock of technology-enhanced educational platforms. When analysing resources and assessing if they are fit for purpose, the application of pedagogical theory should be explored and the degree to which it has been applied should be considered.

Multiple-Choice versus Open-Ended Questions in Advanced Clinical Neuroanatomy: Using a National Neuroanatomy Assessment to Investigate Variability in Performance Using Different Question Types.

Methods of assessment in anatomy vary across medical schools in the United Kingdom (UK) and beyond; common methods include written, spotter, and oral assessment. However, there is limited research evaluating these methods in regards to student performance and perception. The National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition (NUNC) is held annually for medical students throughout the UK. Prior to 2017, the competition asked open-ended questions (OEQ) in the anatomy spotter examination, and in subsequent years also asked single best answer (SBA) questions. The aim of this study is to assess medical students' performance on, and perception of, SBA and OEQ methods of assessment in a spotter style anatomy examination. Student examination performance was compared between OEQ (2013-2016) and SBA (2017-2020) for overall score and each neuroanatomical subtopic. Additionally, a questionnaire explored students' perceptions of SBAs. A total of 631 students attended the NUNC in the studied period. The average mark was significantly higher in SBAs compared to OEQs (60.6% vs. 43.1%, P < 0.0001)-this was true for all neuroanatomical subtopics except the cerebellum. Students felt that they performed better on SBA than OEQs, and diencephalon was felt to be the most difficult neuroanatomical subtopic (n = 38, 34.8%). Students perceived SBA questions to be easier than OEQs and performed significantly better on them in a neuroanatomical spotter examination. Further work is needed to ascertain whether this result is replicable throughout anatomy education.

Introduction of the Modified Neuroanatomy Motivation Questionnaire and Its Role in Comparing Medical Student Attitudes Towards Learning Neuroanatomy Between Neuro-enthusiasts and Standard Students.

BACKGROUND: Neurophobia has been identified as a potential barrier to adequate knowledge of neurology in the medical community, and therefore to patient safety. There is a drive to identify the source of neurophobia, in the hope of tackling it. Comparing the learning motivations of standard medical students with those who enjoy neuroanatomy may be a way of doing this. METHODS: The science motivation questionnaire (SMQ) was modified for neuroanatomy. It was distributed to three cohorts of second year medical students and students attending the extracurricular National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition (NUNC). Cohen's D test for effect size was used to compare standard medical students and those attending the NUNC. RESULTS: Five hundred ninety-seven questionnaires were completed by second year students, and 320 by NUNC attendees. The differences in motivation to learn neuroanatomy between the 2 groups mainly fell into themes of career motivation, personal relevance, intrinsic motivation and assessment anxiety. CONCLUSION: This study has demonstrated the use of the SMQ in neuroanatomy, and found differences in motivators to learn neuroanatomy between self-selecting "neurophiles" and standard medical students, mainly relating to intrinsic motivation and its role in their lives. More research is needed to further explore these differences and how they might apply to interventions in medical school curricula.

The Career Impact of the National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition.

BACKGROUND: Neurosurgery is a notoriously difficult career to enter and requires medical students to engage in extracurricular activities to demonstrate their commitment to the specialty. The National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition (NUNC) was established in 2013 as a means for students to display this commitment as well as academic ability. METHODS: A bespoke 22-item questionnaire was designed to determine career outcomes and the role of competition attendance in job applications. It was distributed using the SurveyMonkey website to the 87 attendees at the 2013 and 2014 competitions. RESULTS: Responses were received by 40 competitors (response rate, 46.0%). Twenty-four responders (60.0%) intended to pursue a career in either neurosurgery (n = 18) or neurology (n = 6). This included 10 responders (25.0%) who had successfully entered either neurosurgery (n = 9) or neurology (n = 1). The performance of these 10 was significantly better than the other responders (57.0 ± 13.6% vs. 46.5 ± 13.5% [n = 30]; P = 0.036). Seventeen responders (42.5%) either included their attendance at NUNC in a post-Foundation job application or intend to. CONCLUSIONS: The NUNC provides the opportunity for medical students to demonstrate their interest in neurosurgery. It has the potential to be used as a tool for recognizing medical students suitable for neurosurgery training.

Reviewing the Role of Instagram in Education: Can a Photo Sharing Application Deliver Benefits to Medical and Dental Anatomy Education?

Instagram is an increasingly popular social media site tailored towards sharing photos and videos. An audit investigating current Instagram accounts focusing on anatomy education found a variety of successful teaching styles, including clinical images, descriptive videos, multiple-choice questions, and cartoons. Utilising Instagram for educational purposes, benefits such as ease of use, hashtags, and its effectiveness in conveying visual topics should be weighed against limitations such as passive learning and the requirement of committed staff to oversee its use.

The Efficacy of Frontline Near-Peer Teaching in a Modern Medical Curriculum.

Within medical education a reduction in curriculum time for subjects, such as anatomy puts pressure on educators to ensure the same learning outcomes are conveyed in less time. This has the potential to impact negatively on student experience. Near-peer teaching (NPT) is often praised as an effective revision tool, but its use as a frontline teaching resource remains unreported. The study explores the potential for NPT to promote delivery of learning outcomes and maximize student experience within a neuroanatomy module for second year medical students. The study occurred in three educational settings, (1) frontline NPT of cranial nerves, (2) revision session NPT of cranial nerves, and (3) NPT alongside faculty staff in laboratory-based neuroanatomy practical exercises. For the first and second components, knowledge was measured using a pre- and post-session test and student perception was ascertained with a questionnaire. For the third component, student perception was assessed with an end-of-module survey. The results show that overall, NPT was well received by learners. A significant knowledge gain was seen between the pre- and post-session test of the frontline NPT session. The study presents evidence in favor of using NPTs to supplement the delivery of learning outcomes in a time and resource constrained curriculum. In particular, for the effective delivery of frontline material. Anat Sci Educ 0: 1-9. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.

The National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition: Lessons Learned from Partnering with Students to Innovate Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Education.

Undergraduates often perceive neuroscience to be a challenging discipline. As the scope of neuroscience continues to expand, it is important to provide undergraduates with sufficient opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills with the aim of encouraging the future generation of basic and clinical neuroscientists. Through our experience of developing the National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition (NUNC), we have accrued an extensive volume of performance data and subjective insight into the delivery of undergraduate neuroanatomy education, which has the potential to inform how to better engage students within this field. More broadly, our group has implemented a technology enhanced learning platform alongside a peer-assisted teaching program. These achieve the dual purpose of compensating for the reduction in dedicated neuroanatomy teaching hours and encouraging undergraduates to develop an interest in the neurosciences. Here, we consider how improving the learning experience at an undergraduate level encourages further engagement in the neurosciences and the importance of this within the wider neuroscience community.