Impact of a Social Media Group Page on Undergraduate Medical Physiology Learning.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of associating classroom learning of medical physiology with a Facebook group page in an all-women medical college of a conservative small city in Pakistan. STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative interpretivist study using semi-structured interviews. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Women Medical College Abbottabad, Pakistan, from March to December 2014. METHODOLOGY: Aclosed Facebook study group was established at a local medical college in Pakistan. It was used to upload learning resources and initiate discussions, coordinated with classroom lectures of physiology. Thirteen semistructured interviews were conducted with volunteer students according to a standard protocol. RESULTS: Five major themes were identified. Facebook group is something new and exciting; it motivated self-study, research, collaborative learning and improved class attendance. Convenience of easily accessible resources allowed the students to concentrate on the lecture rather than note taking. It was easier to communicate with the instructor through Facebook than face to face. Lurkers were also learning. High achievers who had adapted to the current didactic system of teaching were less receptive of the collaborative learning and favored teaching geared towards exam preparation. CONCLUSION: Using social media for e-learning in undergraduate medical education can enhance the student learning experience, especially in resource-limited regions where Information and communication technology is not an integrated part of the teaching process.

A study to enhance medical students' professional decision-making, using teaching interventions on common medications.

AIM: To create sustained improvements in medical students' critical thinking skills through short teaching interventions in pharmacology. METHOD: The ability to make professional decisions was assessed by providing year-4 medical students at a UK medical school with a novel medical scenario (antenatal pertussis vaccination). Forty-seven students in the 2012 cohort acted as a pretest group, answering a questionnaire on this novel scenario. To improve professional decision-making skills, 48 students from the 2013 cohort were introduced to three commonly used medications, through tutor-led 40-min teaching interventions, among six small groups using a structured presentation of evidence-based medicine and ethical considerations. Student members then volunteered to peer-teach on a further three medications. After a gap of 8 weeks, this cohort (post-test group) was assessed for professional decision-making skills using the pretest questionnaire, and differences in the 2-year groups analysed. RESULTS: Students enjoyed presenting on medications to their peers but had difficulty interpreting studies and discussing ethical dimensions; this was improved by contextualising information via patient scenarios. After 8 weeks, most students did not show enhanced clinical curiosity, a desire to understand evidence, or ethical questioning when presented with a novel medical scenario compared to the previous year group who had not had the intervention. Students expressed a high degree of trust in guidelines and expert tutors and felt that responsibility for their own actions lay with these bodies. CONCLUSION: Short teaching interventions in pharmacology did not lead to sustained improvements in their critical thinking skills in enhancing professional practice. It appears that students require earlier and more frequent exposure to these skills in their medical training.