Anatomy beyond the pandemic: A Q-methodology study exploring student perceptions toward a hybrid curriculum.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, anatomy education was forced to adopt online modes of delivery. Previous research on student views revealed areas of strong preference (asynchronous lectures) and strong dislike (virtual specimens) in online anatomy courses. The current study seeks to compare the views of a single cohort of students experiencing both online and in-person undergraduate introductory anatomy and physiology courses. This comparison can highlight what students consider beneficial to their education and can inform future hybrid course offerings. Q-methodology was used to assess the opinions of students. Students sorted 41 statements on anatomy education in a quasi-normally distributed grid based on their degree of agreement with the statements. The rankings underwent a by-person factor analysis which categorized students with shared perceptions into groups. Data were collected from 246 students in the primarily online fall semester and 191 students in the primarily in-person winter semester. Analysis revealed three distinct factors (groups) in the cohort. Factor one (n = 113 (fall), n = 93 (winter)), was satisfied overall with the course materials and delivery. Factor two (n = 52 (fall), n = 18 (winter)) had a deep dislike of online learning, and factor three (n = 37 (fall), n = 49 (winter)) had a strong preference for online learning. While many students were comfortable in both online and in-person learning environments, this was not the case for all learners. The strengths and weaknesses of each teaching modality suggest the opportunity to explore hybrid learning as an option for future course offerings and specifically highlight valuable aspects to incorporate from each environment.

Automated grading of anatomical objective structured practical examinations using decision trees: An artificial intelligence approach.

An Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) is an effective and robust, but resource-intensive, means of evaluating anatomical knowledge. Since most OSPEs employ short answer or fill-in-the-blank style questions, the format requires many people familiar with the content to mark the examinations. However, the increasing prevalence of online delivery for anatomy and physiology courses could result in students losing the OSPE practice that they would receive in face-to-face learning sessions. The purpose of this study was to test the accuracy of Decision Trees (DTs) in marking OSPE questions as a first step to creating an intelligent, online OSPE tutoring system. The study used the results of the winter 2020 semester final OSPE from McMaster University's anatomy and physiology course in the Faculty of Health Sciences (HTHSCI 2FF3/2LL3/1D06) as the data set. Ninety percent of the data set was used in a 10-fold validation algorithm to train a DT for each of the 54 questions. Each DT was comprised of unique words that appeared in correct, student-written answers. The remaining 10% of the data set was marked by the generated DTs. When the answers marked by the DT were compared to the answers marked by staff and faculty, the DT achieved an average accuracy of 94.49% across all 54 questions. This suggests that machine learning algorithms such as DTs are a highly effective option for OSPE grading and are suitable for the development of an intelligent, online OSPE tutoring system.

A longitudinal Q-study to assess changes in students' perceptions at the time of pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many universities and colleges to rapidly adopt online course delivery. As with any new foray, realizing the optimal aspects of a course to change became incredibly important for course instructors. In this study, we used a particularly sensitive method, i.e. Q-methodology, to evaluate changes based on students' perceptions from fall 2020 to winter 2021. Q-methodology is commonly used to uncover shared values, opinions, and preferences. Using Q-methodology, students participating in both semesters of an undergraduate anatomy and physiology course were surveyed in fall 2020 and winter 2021. The Q-sample included 44 statements. Data from fall 2020 were treated as the baseline and changes in students' perceptions from 2020 to 2021 were assessed. In total, 31 students completed both fall 2020 and winter 2021 course evaluations. Three salient factors emerged from the fall 2020 evaluation: Overtaxed students, Solo Achievers, and In-Person Learners. At the baseline, students were concerned mostly about the delivery of the course, then the winter 2021 evaluation showed how they were adjusting to online learning. The longitudinal Q-study proved to be robust in identifying changes in perceptions. These granular findings indicate how students might differ in viewing and evaluating online courses. This methodology can be used in redesigning and restructuring different components of an online course in higher education settings.

Digital Transformation of Faculty Development: Responding and Supporting Academia During Disruptions Caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic disrupted the current practices for teaching and learning in medical and health professions education, creating challenges and opportunities for rapid transition. The authors describe how McMaster University's Program for Faculty Development (MacPFD) responded to this disruption by engaging in a digital transformation. METHODS: The digital transformation process of MacPFD was mapped to the conceptual framework of digital transformation: Vial's building blocks of the framework. A new website was launched to host and disseminate the content. Subsequently, both the website and the content were promoted using social media tools. Content generation, Google Analytics, event registrations, and Zoom webinar attendance records were data sources for the results. Analysis of the data was based on the reach component of the RE-AIM framework. RESULTS: Six-month data range results were reported as producer-centered and user-centered outcomes. The former consisted of 54 resources from diverse content authors, whereas the latter received 33,045 page views from 26,031 unique users from 89 countries. Live webinar events had 1484 registrants, with 312 (21%) being guests from external institutions. Before the coronavirus disease 2019 disruption, MacPFD was a local program to support its faculty. DISCUSSION: The MacPFD's digital transformation shows a clear transition to a new "glocal" approach: an expanded global reach while still tending to our local development needs of the home institution's faculty members.

Occupational therapists' application of the Do-Live-Well framework: A Canadian health promotion approach.

Background. The Do-Live-Well (DLW) framework is an occupation-focused health promotion approach. Online and in-person DLW educational workshops were offered to encourage occupational therapists to apply the DLW concepts. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to understand workshop participants' experiences of and perspectives on using the DLW framework to support its application in the future. Method. Interpretative description was used to understand workshop participants' perspectives on benefits, facilitators, and challenges of using DLW. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using a thematic analysis. Findings. Eight themes were identified as follows: (a) environmental factors of practice settings, (b) co-workers' support, (c) DLW enhanced occupational therapy practice, (d) confidence in using DLW, (e) nature of the DLW framework, (f) DLW promoted healthy occupational engagement, (g) DLW was not suitable for everyone, and (h) pandemic effects. Implications. The DLW framework supports occupationally focused practices, and continuous learning support will be needed.

Comparing Web-Based and In-Person Educational Workshops for Canadian Occupational Therapists and Understanding Their Learning Experiences: Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: The Do-Live-Well (DLW) framework is an occupation-focused health promotion approach. Occupational therapists (OTs) have been interested in training opportunities regarding this framework. Traditionally, in-person continuing educational interventions are the main way that OTs obtain knowledge, but web-based learning has become popular among health care professionals. However, its effectiveness and learners' experience in web-based learning have not been well-studied in occupational therapy education. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the web-based and in-person educational DLW workshops for Canadian OTs and to understand their experiences in both workshop types. METHODS: An explanatory sequential mixed methods study design was used, where quantitative data were collected first, then qualitative data were used to explain the quantitative findings. A quasi-experimental design and interpretative description methodology were used in the quantitative and qualitative phases, respectively. RESULTS: Quantitative results were as follows: a total of 43 OTs completed pre-, post-, and follow-up evaluations (in-person group: 21/43, 49%; web-based group: 22/43, 51%). Practice settings of the participants varied, including geriatric, hospital, long-term, mental health, pediatric, and primary settings. The primary outcome was as follows: there were no statistically significant differences in knowledge changes at the 3 time points (P=.57 to P=.99) between the groups. In the web-based group, the knowledge scores at follow-up were lower compared with the posttest results, meaning that knowledge gain was reduced over time (P=.001). The secondary outcomes were as follows: there were statistically significant differences between the groups in factors influencing DLW adoption at posttest (P=.001) and in satisfaction with the workshop (P<.001) at posttest in favor of the in-person group. Qualitative results were as follows: a total of 18 OTs (9/18, 50% from each group) participated in an individual interview. Five themes were identified regarding learners' workshop experiences: relevance to their practices and interests may improve learning, a familiar learning environment may facilitate learning, synchronous in-person interaction is valuable in the learning process, ease of access to learning should be considered, and flexibility in web-based learning can be both beneficial and challenging. CONCLUSIONS: The quantitative results of this study reported no difference in knowledge acquisition between the in-person and web-based groups, indicating that web-based education is as effective as in-person workshops. However, participants' satisfaction with the workshop was statistically significantly higher for the in-person workshop. The qualitative findings described the participants' perceived benefits and challenges of each educational format. The participants in both the web-based and in-person workshop groups valued in-person interactions in learning, but the participants in the web-based workshop group expressed web-based learning lacked in-person-like interactions. Thus, adding synchronous in-person interactions to web-based learning may improve learners' educational experiences in web-based occupational therapy and continuing education.

Experimental angiogenesis of arterial vasa vasorum.

Vasa vasorum are important sources of oxygen and nutrients to vascular tissues and their proliferation influences the pathogenesis of arterial disease; however, the regulation of their growth is poorly understood partly because of a lack of appropriate experimental models. We cuffed common carotid arteries of rabbits with segments of the contralateral carotid artery, a procedure that resulted in rapid and extensive elaboration of adventitial vasa vasorum and connective tissue. Endothelium-lined microvessels were observed at 1 week but vessels as large as 300 microm with an organizing media were common by 3 weeks. These vasa vasorum arose primarily from the vascular supply to contiguous tissues, but also from the carotid artery. This angiogenesis was accompanied by increased expression of the angiogenic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), in the invading connective tissue cells and increased expression of the transcriptional regulator of VEGF, hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha), in these connective tissues and in the cuffing artery. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that upregulation of HIF-1alpha and VEGF expression drives angiogenesis of vasa vasorum in this model. This simple model may be amenable to the study of the development and elaboration of vasa vasorum, especially in the context of vascular pathologies.