Medical students perspectives and consideration of geriatrics for future practice. An exploratory study of a public medical school in Ghana.

Ghana has one of the fastest growing aging populations in sub-Sahara Africa, but little is known about the geriatric workforce. A sample of 12 medical students in one Ghanaian public university participated in an exploratory qualitative study to share their perspectives on specialty choices in Ghana, interest in working with older patients, and their consideration of geriatrics for future practice. The findings revealed limited knowledge of geriatrics as well as low interest in its selection as a specialty for future practice. These were attributable to multi-faceted factors, including the lack of both exposure to geriatric medicine and geriatrics-focused training for students in this institution. It is critical that geriatric education be prioritized and incorporated in medical schools to nurture students' interest and future consideration of the specialty. This will help bolster the number of geriatric-oriented physicians and secure specialized care for the aging population.

A Comparison Study of the Effect of Type of Grading on Clinical Simulation Performance.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether student performance in a simulation varied according to which grading method was used: pass/fail versus numerical grading with calculation into a course grade. Results showed that student performances were not significantly different when the pass/fail graded group was compared to the numerically graded group, even though students knew which grading schema would be used in their evaluation. The study challenges the opinion that students perform better when they know that they will be numerically graded in simulation.

Flipped classroom model for learning evidence-based medicine.

Journal club (JC), as a pedagogical strategy, has long been used in graduate medical education (GME). As evidence-based medicine (EBM) becomes a mainstay in GME, traditional models of JC present a number of insufficiencies and call for novel models of instruction. A flipped classroom model appears to be an ideal strategy to meet the demands to connect evidence to practice while creating engaged, culturally competent, and technologically literate physicians. In this article, we describe a novel model of flipped classroom in JC. We present the flow of learning activities during the online and face-to-face instruction, and then we highlight specific considerations for implementing a flipped classroom model. We show that implementing a flipped classroom model to teach EBM in a residency program not only is possible but also may constitute improved learning opportunity for residents. Follow-up work is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this model on both learning and clinical practice.

Team Communication Influence on Procedure Performance: Findings From Interprofessional Simulations with Nursing and Medical Students.

Interprofessional team performance is believed to be dependent on the development of effective team communication skills. Yet, little evidence exists in undergraduate nursing programs on whether team communication skills affect team performance. A secondary analysis of a larger study on interprofessional student teams in simulations was conducted to determine if there is a relationship between team communication and team procedure performance. The results showed a positive, significant correlation between interprofessional team communication ratings and procedure accuracy in the simulation. Interprofessional team training in communication skills for nursing and medical students improves the procedure accuracy in a simulated setting.

Psychometric Testing of a Simulation Rubric for Measuring Interprofessional Communication.

AIM: The aim of this study was to establish psychometric testing of the Indiana University Simulation Integration Rubric (IUSIR), a tool for measuring interprofessional communication in simulations. BACKGROUND: Educators engage in a wide variety of activities to promote interprofessional education, with many of these activities involving simulation. As interprofessional education evolves, tools are needed to measure the effectiveness of interventions. METHOD: A sample of 229 pre-licensure bachelor of science in nursing students and 66 pre-licensure first- and second-year medical students was evaluated using the IUSIR. Cronbach's alpha, inter-item and inter-total correlations, and interrater agreement were used to evaluate reliability of the tool. An ANOVA to test for difference between the two levels of students was used to establish validity. RESULTS: Reliability and validity were supported for all individual items for nursing and medical students, and for all team items CONCLUSION: The IUSIR is a reliable and valid measure for interprofessional communication.