A qualitative study of an undergraduate online emergency medicine education program at a teaching Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Globally, half of all years of life lost is due to emergency medical conditions, with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) facing a disproportionate burden of these conditions. There is an urgent need to train the future physicians in LMICs in the identification and stabilization of patients with emergency medical conditions. Little research focuses on the development of effective emergency medicine (EM) medical education resources in LMICs and the perspectives of the students themselves. One emerging tool is the use of electronic learning (e-learning) and blended learning courses. We aimed to understand Uganda medical trainees' use of learning materials, perception of current e-learning resources, and perceived needs regarding EM skills acquisition during participation in an app-based EM course. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups of medical students and EM residents. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling. All sessions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The final codebook was approved by three separate investigators, transcripts were coded after reaching consensus by all members of the coding team, and coded data were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-six medical trainees were included in the study. Analysis of the transcripts revealed three major themes: [1] medical trainees want education in EM and actively seek EM training opportunities; [2] although the e-learning course supplements knowledge acquisition, medical students are most interested in hands-on EM-related training experiences; and [3] medical students want increased time with local physician educators that blended courses provide. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that while students lack access to structured EM education, they actively seek EM knowledge and practice experiences through self-identified, unstructured learning opportunities. Students value high quality, easily accessible EM education resources and employ e-learning resources to bridge gaps in their learning opportunities. However, students desire that these resources be complemented by in-person educational sessions and executed in collaboration with local EM experts who are able to contextualize materials, offer mentorship, and help students develop their interest in EM to continue the growth of the EM specialty.

The Crisis of Medical Education in Primary Care Medicine Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic in a Malaysian Higher Institution

@#The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has not only impacted the paradigm of health care delivery, but also the education of future health care providers. Medical faculties are compelled to cease all face-to-face teaching considering the threat of the virus. The ramification of distant learning was heavily endured by primary care educators who not only train the undergraduates but also future family medicine specialists. We have discovered that as a medical educator, it is important to continuously evolve and adapt to current situation. Even in the absence of face-to-face teaching, the primary care curriculum can be successfully delivered using the online platform. Here, we describe the crises faced in this endeavour, the solutions that were undertaken, and the advantages of virtual teaching which we hope will add value to primary care medical education.

O profissionalismo e suas formas de avaliação em estudantes de Medicina: uma revisão integrativa / El profesionalismo y sus formas de evaluación en estudiantes de Medicina: una revisión integradora / Professionalism and its forms of assessment in medical students: An integrative review

Com o objetivo de sistematizar informações sobre avaliação de profissionalismo em estudantes de Medicina, foi realizada em maio de 2018, revisão integrativa nas bases EBSCO, LILACS, MEDLINE, via PubMed no período de 2013 a 2018, sendo encontrados 12 artigos e três eixos temáticos: profissionalismo: constructo multidimensional e indefinido; ensino de profissionalismo médico; avaliando o profissionalismo: estratégias múltiplas de avaliação. A avaliação por meio de domínios como altruísmo, responsabilidade, cuidado, trabalho em equipe, é frequente, podendo ser utilizado cenários ou pacientes simulados; questionários online ou aplicativos. Ressalta-se a importância da modelagem no ensino de profissionalismo e o uso do feedback associado a outros métodos de avaliação. Não existe conceito único de profissionalismo. Percebe-se a necessidade de associação de métodos para uma melhor avaliação.(AU)

Con el objetivo de sistematizar informaciones sobre evaluación de profesionalismo en estudiantes de Medicina, en mayo de 2018 se realizó una revisión integradora en las bases EBSCO, LILACS, MEDLINE, vía PubMed en el período de 2013 a 2018, habiéndose encontrado 12 artículos y tres ejes temáticos: profesionalismo: construcción multidimensional e indefinida; enseñanza de profesionalismo médico; evaluación del profesionalismo: estrategias múltiples de evaluación. La evaluación por medio de dominios tales como altruismo, responsabilidad, cuidado y trabajo en equipo es frecuente, pudiendo utilizarse escenarios o pacientes simulados; cuestionarios online o aplicaciones. Se subraya la importancia del modelado en la enseñanza del profesionalismo y el uso del feedback asociado a otros métodos de evaluación. No hay concepto único de profesionalismo. Se percibe la necesidad de asociación de métodos para una mejor evaluación.(AU)

With the objective of systematizing information on the assessment of professionalism among medical students, an integrative review was carried out in May 2018 in the databases EBSCOhost, LILACS and MEDLINE, via PubMed, from 2013 to 2018. Overall, 12 articles and three thematic axes were found: Professionalism: a multidimensional and undefined construct; The teaching of medical professionalism; and Assessing professionalism: multiple assessment strategies. Assessment through domains such as altruism, responsibility, care and teamwork is frequent, and simulated scenarios, standardized patients, online questionnaires or applications may be used. The importance of modeling in the teaching of professionalism is emphasized, as well as the use of feedback associated with other assessment methods. We concluded that there is not one single concept of professionalism and noticed that better assessments are produced when different methods are associated.(AU)

O Ensino de Gestão de Antimicrobianos em Escola Médica do Rio de Janeiro / Teaching Antimicrobial Stewardship at a Rio de Janeiro Medical School

RESUMO Introdução Programas de gestão de antimicrobianos (PGA) são ferramentas importantes para minimizar o problema global da resistência antimicrobiana. As bases destes programas devem começar idealmente na graduação médica. Objetivo Identificar a apresentação dos conceitos dos PGA no currículo de uma escola médica. Material e métodos Estudo transversal realizado com docentes da Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). O critério de inclusão utilizado foi ministrar conteúdos relativos a PGA para o curso de Medicina. Foram mensurados apresentação de componentes-chave dos PGA, carga horária destinada, metodologias de ensino e avaliações empregadas. Resultados Estudo realizado entre dezembro de 2017 e janeiro de 2018, sendo incluídos 6 dos 329 (1,8%) docentes que ministravam aulas para o curso de Medicina. A carga horária destinada à apresentação dos PGA totalizou 83 horas, com mediana de 3 h/docente, o que correspondeu a 1,1% da carga horária total do curso inteiro. Cinco dos seis professores (83,3%) apresentaram pelo menos um dos componentes-chave dos PGA. A frequência de apresentação dos componentes-chave dos PGA foi de: especificidade do tratamento (5/6 - 83,3%), duração do tratamento (4/6 - 66,7%), otimização do tempo de administração (4/6 - 66,7%), possibilidade de troca de via de administração (3/6 - 50%) e monitorização de níveis séricos (2/6 - 33,3%). Quatro dos seis docentes (66,7%) utilizaram combinações de metodologia de ensino, as quais foram reportadas nas seguintes frequências: aulas tradicionais (5/6 - 83,3%), estudos de casos clínicos (4/6 - 66,7%) e aprendizado baseado em problemas (4/6 - 66,7%). Cinquenta por cento dos docentes utilizaram combinações de avaliações para assimilação do conteúdo, e as mais utilizadas foram: respostas dissertativas curtas (3/6), casos clínicos (2/6), perguntas de múltipla escolha (2/6), resumos clínicos (1/6), seminários (1/6) e respostas dissertativas longas (1/6). Conclusões Verificamos que os componentes-chave relativos aos PGA foram apresentados em uma escola médica do Rio de Janeiro, sendo a combinação de diferentes metodologias de ensino a principal estratégia para transmissão dos conceitos. Metade dos docentes utilizou combinação de avaliações para mensurar o conteúdo apresentado. Há necessidade de ajustes para que aspectos importantes, como troca de via de administração e monitorização de níveis séricos, sejam mais debatidos na graduação.

ABSTRACT Introduction Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) are important tools in the effort to reduce the global issue of antimicrobial resistance. Ideally, the foundations of ASP should start to be conveyed in undergraduate medical training. Aim To identify the presentation of ASP concepts in the curriculum of a medical school. Material and methods A cross-sectional study conducted among medical teachers from the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). The inclusion criterion was teaching ASP-related content in the undergraduate medical course. We analyzed which key-concepts were presented, the number of hours dedicated to presentation, the teaching methodologies and the evaluation methods. Results The study was conducted between December 2017 and January 2018 and included six of the 329 (1.8%) teachers who taught on the Medicine course. The total hours dedicated to ASP teaching was 83; median of 3h/teacher, corresponding to 1.1% of the total class hours for the whole course. Five out of six (83.3%) teachers present at least one key component of ASP. The frequency of key ASP concepts presented was: specificity of treatment (5/6 - 83.3%), duration of treatment (4/6 - 66.7%), optimization of administration time (4/6 - 66.7%), possible switching of administration method (3/6 - 50%) and therapeutic drug level monitoring (2/6 - 33.3%). Four out of six (66.7%) teachers used combinations of teaching methodologies, which were reported in the following frequency: lectures (5/6 - 83.3%), clinical cases (4/6 - 66.7%) and problem-based learning (4/6 - 66.7%). Fifty percent of the teachers employed combined evaluations to measure the concepts presented and the most common used were: short dissertation questions (3/6), clinical cases (2/6), multiple choice questions (2/6), clinical summaries (1/6), seminars (1/6) and long dissertation questions (1/6). Conclusions We verified that key ASP-related concepts were presented in a Rio de Janeiro medical school, with a combination of different methodologies constituting the main strategy to convey the concepts. Combinations of evaluations were used by half of the teachers to measure the contents presented. A requirement is observed to improve the teaching of important aspects such as when it is possible to switch the administration method and monitoring of the therapeutic drug level.

Medical Professionalism: the Effects of Sociodemographic Diversity and Curricular Organization on the Attitudinal Performance of Medical Students / Profissionalismo Médico: Efeito da Diversidade Sociodemográfica e da Organização Curricular no Desempenho Atitudinal dos Estudantes de Medicina

ABSTRACT Introduction: Socioeconomic and demographic diversity in the educational environment and the development of professional attitudes enhance the quality of health care delivery. Despite the importance of diversity for equity and accessibility to health care, its repercussions for students' attitudinal learning have not been adequately evaluated. Purpose: Evaluate the influence of academic sociodemographic diversity and curricular organization in the development of professional attitudes in different phases of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Method: In 2012, the attitudinal performance of 310 socioeconomically diverse medical students was evaluated by the administration of a five-point professional attitudes scale. The participants were at different points in their education at a Brazilian public school of medicine in Brasília, Federal District. The scale comprised 6 factors: communication, ethics, professional excellence, self-assessment, beliefs, social determinants; and a general factor called medical professionalism and was validated for the purpose of this research. The reliability coefficients (aCronbach) ranged from 0.65 to 0.87, according to different scale dimensions. Student diversity was analyzed according to differences in gender, age, religious affiliation, system of student selection and socioeconomic background. Results: The authors observed a decline in the mean attitude scores during the clinical phase compared to the preclinical phase of the curriculum. Female students displayed more positive attitudes than male students, and the students who declared a religious affiliation recorded higher attitude scores compared to those who declared themselves atheist, agnostic or non-religious. There was no correlation between family income or the system of student selection and the students' attitude scores. The students who had attended public schools expressed a greater interest in working in the public health system compared to the other students. Age and marital status had no relevant effect on attitude scores. Conclusions: The attitude scores of medical students declined as the curriculum progressed. Female students had more positive attitudes than male students. Religious affiliation appeared to positively influence the observed attitude scores.

RESUMO Introdução: A diversidade socioeconômica e demográfica no ambiente educacional e o desenvolvimento de attitudes profissionais estão associados ao aumento na qualidade da assistência em saúde. Apesar da importância dessa diversidade para a equidade e acessibilidade ao sistema de saúde, sua repercussão no aprendizado atitudinal dos estudantes em nosso meio ainda é muito pouco estudada e avaliada. Objetivo: Avaliar a influência das diferenças demográficas, sociais e económicas e da organização curricular no desempenho atitudinal de estudantes de graduação em Medicina em diferentes fases do curso. Método: Em 2012, o desempenho atitudinal de 310 estudantes de Medicina foi avaliado mediante a aplicação de uma escala de atitudes profissionais de cinco pontos. Os participantes eram de diferentes séries do curso de graduação em Medicina de uma escola pública de Medicina de Brasília (DF). A escala de atitudes utilizada era composta por seis fatores — Comunicação; Ética; Excelência Profissional; Autoavaliação; Crenças; Determinantes Sociais; e um fator geral chamado Profissionalismo Médico — e foi validada para as finalidades desta pesquisa. O coeficiente de fidedignidade (a de Cronbach) para as diferentes dimensões da escala variou de 0,65 a 0,87. A diversidade dos estudantes foi avaliada de acordo com gênero, idade, religião, sistema de ingresso no curso (cotistas sociais/não cotistas) e condições socioeconómicas. Resultados: Os autores observaram um declínio nos escores médios de atitude em várias dimensões da escala durante a fase clínica, comparada à fase pré-clínica do currículo. Estudantes do gênero feminino obtiveram escores de atitudes mais positivos do que os do gênero masculino. Estudantes que declararam ter uma religião tiveram melhores escores do que os que se declararam ateus, agnósticos ou sem religião. Não houve correlação entre idade, estado civil e renda familiar e o desempenho atitudinal medido pela escala. Estudantes que ingressaram no curso pelo sistema de cotas expressaram maior interesse em trabalhar no sistema público de saúde. Conclusões: Houve um declínio do escore de atitude dos estudantes de Medicina com a progressão do curso. Estudantes do gênero feminino apresentaram escores de atitudes mais positivos que os do gênero masculino. Filiação religiosa parece influenciar positivamente o desempenho atitudinal dos estudantes.

Exploration of Current Status of Undergraduate Education of Rehabilitation Medicine / 中国康复理论与实践

@# Cultivating talents of rehabilitation medicine is the most urgent affairs of developing rehabilitation medicine in China. The undergraduate education of the rehabilitation medicine is an important link of improving the school-level and the academic position of rehabilitation medical education and cultivating talents of rehabilitation medicine. This article focuses on the present situation about the undergraduate education of rehabilitation medicine, the sources of undergraduate, the location of training targets, the professional fields as well as the problems needing attention and solutions in undergraduate education.