The challenge of transfer to clinical practice: The illusion of learning and illusion of teaching.

There is increasing pressure to accelerate health professions education programs and educators have the challenge of ensuring that students can effectively transfer their learning into clinical practice. In this personal view, we discuss how insights from cognitive science can inform the redesign of current curricula and highlight the challenge of implementing these new approaches for instructional design and assessment. We also recommend that educators disseminate the important lessons learned from their endeavors.

Medical students' perception and attitudes on operating theatre learning experience in Sri Lanka.

Objective: The operating room is a unique learning experience that has visual, aural, kinesthetic learning stimuli and provides benefits to the medical students such as development of sound clinical knowledge and skills, and gaining personal insight into ones' career choice. However, this can be a challenging place due to the unfamiliar learning environment. We aimed to study the Sri Lankan Medical students' perception and attitudes on operating theatre learning experience. Design and setting: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out among medical students undergoing surgical clinical training on the perspectives of the teaching and learning experience in the operating theatre in Sri Lanka. Participants: Our study group consisted of 390 medical students from four different medical faculties in Sri Lanka representing all levels of surgical clinical rotations. Results: A majority of the students had actively participated in the operating theater. Despite this, the students' clarity of the learning outcomes and expectations in a theatre varied greatly. Majority of the students felt that the surgeons were willingly to teach but also noted that there was no standardization in teaching. This study clearly shows a significant correlation between positive emotions and surgical teams welcoming attitude towards the medical students. Long standing hours were considered a negative emotion by a majority of students. We also observed that theatre environment can be physically and mentally exhausting. Conclusions: Thus, empathy, feeling welcome and giving breaks to refresh can go a long way in making the learning experience better. Regular feedback to trainers on students' perception of the theatre experience is important to value the students' opinion and improve the quality of the surgical theatre. We strongly recommend initiation of clear induction sessions with introduction of well-structured teaching learning activities in the operating theatre.

Undergraduate ultrasound training: prospective comparison of two different peer assisted course models on national standards.

BACKGROUND: A thorough knowledge of sonography is essential in clinical practice. Therefore, sonography training is increasingly incorporated into the medical school curriculum, entailing different course models. The question arises which model is most effective to convey sustained sonographic skills. METHODS: Two different peer-assisted learning (PAL) sonography course models were developed as part of a clinical prospective study. The course content was based on the national resident curriculum of the German Society for Ultrasound in Medicine (DEGUM). Model A consists of a 10-week course and model B of a two-day compact course. Each model entailed 20 teaching units (TU). A script was used to prepare for each unit. Two modified OSCE exams of the ultrasound skills (max = 50 points per exam) were performed during the last teaching unit to assess the competence level. For subjective self-assessment and model evaluation, a questionnaire with a 7-point Likert scale was employed. RESULTS: A total of 888 students of the 3rd year participated as part of a voluntary elective in the study (744 in model A and 144 in model B). In the exams, participants in model A (median 43 points) scored significantly higher than those in model B (median 39; p < 0.01). Participants in model A (mean 1.71 points) obtained significantly higher mean competency gain scores in subject knowledge than model B (mean 1.43 points; p < 0.01) participants. All participants were satisfied with the course concept (A: mean 1.68 vs. B: mean 1.78 points; p = 0.05), the teaching materials (A: mean 1.81 vs. B: mean 1.69 points; p = 0.52), and the tutor's didactic skills (A: mean 1.24 vs. B: mean 1.15 points; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that sonography-specific competency may be obtained through different course models, with a model stretching over several weeks leading to a higher competence level. Further research should assess the long-term retention of the skills obtained in different models.

Long-Term Effectiveness and Sustainability of Integrating Peer-Assisted Ultrasound Courses into Medical School-A Prospective Study.

INTRODUCTION: Ultrasound diagnostics is an important examination method in everyday clinical practice, but student education is often inadequate for acquiring sufficient basic skills. Individual universities have therefore started integrating (extra)curricular training concepts into medical education. This study aimed to evaluate sustainable skills development through participation in peer-assisted ultrasound courses. METHODS: From 2017, students in the clinical part of medical school could opt for extracurricular peer-assisted ultrasound courses. Depending on the format (10-week course/2-day compact course) these comprised 20 teaching units focusing on abdominal and emergency ultrasonography. Students attending compulsory workshops at the start of their practical year were enrolled in this study, allowing for a comparison between the study group (attended ultrasound course) and the control group (did not attend ultrasound course). Competency from two out of four practical exams (subjects: "aorta", "gallbladder", "kidney" and "lung") was measured, and a theory test on the same subject areas ("pathology recognition") was administered. Additional questions concerned biographical data, subjective competency assessment (7-point Likert scale), and "attitude to ultrasound training in the curriculum". RESULTS: Analysis included 302 participants in total. Ultrasound courses had been attended on average 2.5 years earlier (10-week course) and 12 months earlier (2-day compact course), respectively. The study group (n = 141) achieved significantly better results than the control group (n = 161) in the long-term follow-up. This applies both to practical exams (p < 0.01) and theory tests (p < 0.01). After course attendance, participants reported a significantly higher subjective assessment of theoretical (p < 0.01) and practical (p < 0.01) ultrasound skills. CONCLUSIONS: Peer-assisted ultrasound courses can sustainably increase both theoretical and practical competency of medical students. This highlights the potential and need for standardised implementation of ultrasound courses in the medical education curriculum.

How Is Endodontics Taught in Italy? A Survey of Italian Dental Schools.

The aim of our study was to investigate how endodontics is taught in Italian universities. An online survey was conducted from August to December 2021. A comparison between courses led by full or associate professors (Group 1) versus courses led by other figures, such as researchers or temporary lecturers (Group 2), was made. A total of 28 out of 36 schools participated (78%). In most schools, endodontics is taught in the fifth year to 15-29 students. All schools planned pre-clinical endodontic training, and in 25/28 schools (89.3%), clinical endodontic training was also provided. The course programs varied among schools, and significantly more hours were allocated to teaching nonsurgical root canal treatment in Group 1 schools than in Group 2 schools. The average numbers of hours of preclinical and clinical training were 34.3 ± 23.6 and 84.1 ± 76.7, respectively. All schools used rotary NiTi files in their clinical training, and the vertical condensation of hot gutta-percha was the most frequently taught obturation technique. As expected, the scenario of endodontic education in Italian universities was variable and needs harmonization. Courses led by full or associate professors seem to be better structured.

Developing and Mapping Entrustable Professional Activities with Saudi Meds Competency Framework: A Consensus Study.

Purpose: This study aimed at developing a national consensus on entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for Saudi undergraduate medical education and mapping them with the "Saudi Meds" competency framework. Methods: A three phased approach was used. Phase 1 consisted of identifying and developing EPAs; Phase 2 consisted of building a national consensus on developed EPAs (validation process); and Phase 3 consisted of mapping the validated EPAs with the Saudi Meds competency framework. Nominal group and modified Delphi techniques were used to develop consensus on EPAs. Classical test theory-based item analysis was conducted to establish validity and reliability of finalized EPAs. Results: Fifteen expert medical educationists and 109 academic leaders from 23 medical schools participated in the validation process. The study achieved a consensus on 10 core EPAs with an overall reliability (Cronbach's Alpha) of 0.814. The item-total correlation ranged from 0.341 to 0.642. Conclusion: This study results in a national consensus on generic, comprehensive and region-specific EPAs that have been mapped with Saudi Meds competency framework. Our study is the first step in the direction of facilitating EPA-based curricular reforms in Saudi medical schools.

COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned for undergraduate research training.

This article reports a session from the virtual international 2021 IUBMB/ASBMB workshop, "Teaching Science on Big Data." The awareness of using publicly available research data sets for undergraduate training is low in certain parts of the world. Final year projects always revolve around wet-lab based projects. The challenges occur during COVID-19 pandemic when it forces full lockdown to the nation, but at the same time faculty members need to provide consistent training to the students and projects to work with. We aim to identify supervisors in the faculty that are ready to convert their proposed project from wet-lab to an online-based project. As coordinators of the course we created an online survey to identify projects that can be converted into dry-lab/online projects. Our surveys identified only 32.5% projects implemented dry-lab/online based projects. Most academicians described that they are not ready or familiar to apply changes for their research design. With the unknown future of the world living with COVID-19 and directional changes of life science research toward big data driven research indeed we should be ready to adopt such changes. Awareness on reusing public data sets as tools for research should be provided to strengthen undergraduate training. Life science undergraduates should be exposed to reusing public data sets as these materials are readily available case studies that allow in depth exploration to answer specific research questions. Members of the faculty should take part to pave the way for them, ensuring that they understand that life science research revolves around a multidisciplinary field.

Do magnification loupes affect the precision of cavity preparations made by undergraduates? A randomized crossover study.

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the effect of magnification devices on procedure quality in restorative dentistry is scant. This study therefore aimed to assess, under simulated clinical conditions, if magnification loupes affect the quality of preparations carried out by undergraduate dental students. METHODS: 59 undergraduate dental students underwent two visual acuity tests, based on which they were divided into a "low visual acuity group" (visus < 1) and a "good visual acuity group" (visus ≥ 1). In a randomized crossover experiment, participants performed a two-dimensional S and a three-dimensional O figure preparation with a dental handpiece on standardized acrylic blocs designed for preclinical restorative training. Each participant carried out the preparation tasks twice, once with magnification loupes (2.5×) and once without. Two blinded investigators independently evaluated parameters of preparation precision. Data were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation coefficients, intra-class correlation coefficients, and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests (α = 0.05). RESULTS: Participants from the "low visual acuity group" did not show a statistically significant improvement in accuracy when they used magnification loupes for the S figure preparation (p ≥ 0.0625). Participants from the "high visual acuity group" obtained a higher level of accuracy (p ≤ 0.0012) when they used magnification loupes for the S figure preparation. The use of magnification loupes had no statistically significant effect on the accuracy parameters of the O figure cavity preparations (p ≥ 0.1865). Participants with high visual acuity achieved only a marginally better accuracy than participants with a visus < 1. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that loupes with 2.5× magnification increase the accuracy of two-dimensional preparations while they have no significant effect, favorable or otherwise, on the accuracy of complex, three-dimensional cavity preparations of untrained dental students.

Impact of Undergraduate Research Training Programs: An Illustrative Example of Finding a Comparison Group and Evaluating Academic and Graduate School Outcomes.

In this study, researchers at a large, urban, comprehensive minority-serving institution used propensity score matching to identify a unique comparison group to study academic and graduate school outcomes in students served by the National Institutes of Health-funded Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative. Acknowledging that students' self-selection biases may confound findings, the use of propensity methods to match students served with those who were not (but were otherwise eligible) provides a valuable tool for evaluators and practitioners to combat this challenge and better evaluate their effectiveness and impact on students' success. This study's findings indicate that BUILD participants had higher academic and graduate school success with regard to cumulative GPA, units attempted and completed, graduation status, and application and admission to graduate programs.

Competency-based undergraduate curriculum implementation in anesthesiology-A survey-based comparison of two models of training.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Imparting the knowledge and skills of Anesthesiology to undergraduates can be challenging. Competency Based Undergraduate (CBUG) Curriculum for the Undergraduate medical students introduced by the Medical Council of India (MCI) aims to improve the quality of the Indian Medical Graduate (IMG). The Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care of our college redrafted the training program and brought it in-line with the CBUG Curriculum beginning February 2019. A questionnaire based survey was conducted to assess the efficacy, satisfaction levels and the perception of the students towards the new competency based curriculum. The aim was to assess the students perception of the competency based curriculum and to evaluate two slightly different approaches to the implementation of the curriculum. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two groups of undergraduate medical students belonging to the 6th and 8th term, underwent two different models of teaching. The 8th term students had already completed their theory classes based on the older curriculum a year ago when they were in 6th term. However, their clinics and tutorials were modelled as per the new CBUG Curriculum. The current 6th term students had their first exposure to Anesthesiology and their theory, tutorials and clinics were scheduled in the same term, simulation based training was added, the operation theatre rotation was held in the mornings at 0730hrs and the intensive care unit rounds were held in the evenings. There was no difference in the theory classes taken for the two batches, however the clinics were different. After both the batches finished their rotation, they were given the survey questionnaire to assess their perception of the model of CBUG Curriculum that they were exposed to. RESULTS: The results of the survey revealed that about 80% of the students in both groups preferred that theory classes and practical training should be conducted in parallel in 6th term. About 60% students in both groups felt that early morning clinics 0800hrs were better than mid-morning clinics at 1100hrs as they get to see and do more procedures. 66%-82% students in both groups felt that the practical training in the OT, ICU and skills lab were very helpful or extremely helpful. The most important aspect of Anesthesiology rotation was "learning basic life saving skills and simulation based learning" according to 85% students in both groups. Nearly 80% students in both groups felt that the training in Anesthesiology should be allotted more time and more weightage in undergraduate training. 72% students in 6th term and 63% students in 8th term felt more confident of handling emergencies after their Anesthesiology rotation. CONCLUSION: The new curriculum was extremely well received by the students of both groups. The model used for 6th term students comprising of teaching theory and practical in the same term and having early morning clinics, was found to be superior as compared to the model used to teach 8th term students where there was a gap of one year between theory and practical teaching and the clinics were held midmorning.

La COVID-19 y la formación científica de los estudiantes de medicina / COVID-19 and medical students' scientific training

La enseñanza de pregrado en Medicina en Cuba se rige actualmente por el plan de estudios E, en el cual se define la función investigativa en el proceso de enseñanza; sin embargo, la investigación clínica no se ha logrado posicionar en el lugar que le corresponde. La escasa producción científica de los profesionales médicos es el resultado de una deficiencia en la formación científica de los mismos durante el proceso de enseñanza de pregrado, cuyas consecuencias se observan durante su desenvolvimiento profesional. La formación médica de pregrado es el momento idóneo para crear los cimientos del pensamiento científico. La formación de los estudiantes de medicina no puede ser óptima cuando es conducida por rutas pasivas de imitación. Es necesario aprender a convertir las experiencias en conocimiento, y la actual pandemia COVID-19 puede ser un elemento motivador en este sentido. Para analizar las causas de la escasa producción científica de los profesionales médicos hay que revisar con detalle las deficiencias que existen en la formación científica de nuestros estudiantes de pregrado. Esta pandemia nos ha demostrado que a los estudiantes se les puede motivar a investigar. Hay que aprovechar estos momentos para hacer modificaciones en el plan de estudios, que incluyan dedicarle un mayor tiempo a la enseñanza de las herramientas investigativas y vinculación a grupos de investigación donde desarrollen un pensamiento científico

Undergraduate medical studies in Cuba are currently governed by Curriculum E, which provides a definition of the role of research training in the learning process. However, clinical research has not managed to occupy the place it deserves. The scant scientific production of medical professionals stems from their poor undergraduate scientific training, whose consequences are visible in their professional performance. Undergraduate medical training is the ideal moment to lay the foundations for scientific thinking. Medical training will never be optimal if it is based on passive imitation. It is necessary to learn to transform experiences into knowledge, and the current COVID-19 pandemic may be a motivating factor in this respect. To analyze the reasons for the scant scientific production of medical professionals, detailed examination should be made of the deficiencies found in the scientific training of undergraduate students. The pandemic has shown that students may be motivated to do research. Occasions such as this should be used to make changes in the curriculum, allotting more time to the teaching of research tools and providing better links with research teams where scientific thinking may be developed.

Preparing Undergraduate Students for Summer Research Experiences and Graduate School Applications in a Pandemic Environment: Development and Implementation of Online Modules.

Engaging students in research is a high impact practice that improves student retention and persistence in behavioral and biomedical sciences and engineering. The California State University Long Beach (CSULB) Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Program offers an intensive research training experience to undergraduate students from a wide range of health-related disciplines. The goal of this program is to provide students with research skills, psychosocial resources, and graduate school application guidance that will make them competitive for Ph.D. programs. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the campus closure of many universities, including CSULB, our student training had to transition from in-person training to online training. This paper discusses the development and implementation of a series of eight online modules for guiding students through the application process for summer research experiences and graduate schools. Overall, the BUILD trainees were positive about the online modules. Specifically, they indicated that the modules were useful, informative, easy to access/use, good use of their time, and a good supplemental activity to their learning community activities. Most trainees indicated that they preferred the modules to be implemented in a hybrid format, where the students can view the modules on their own first and then have an opportunity to engage in in-person/synchronous online discussions.

Psychometric Properties and Calibration of the SPOREEM (Students' Perception of the Operating Room Educational Environment Measure).

OBJECTIVE: The experience in the operating room is considered as a crucial element affecting medical students' satisfaction with workplace-based training in surgery. We developed the "Students' Perception of the Operating Room Educational Environment Measure" (SPOREEM) and applied the approach of Item Response Theory to improve accuracy of its measurement. DESIGN: Psychometric analysis determined the factorial structure. Using Item Response Theory, item thresholds were calculated on response option levels. Sum scores in the factors were then computed using calibrated unit weights. SETTING: One hundred medical students from the University Medical Center in Goettingen, Germany, enrolled in a one-week surgery rotation completed the SPOREEM. RESULTS: The final 19-item questionnaire resulted in 3 factors: "Learning support and inclusion" (1), "Workplace atmosphere" (2), and "Experience of emotional stress" (3). Item calibration resulted in refinement of sum scores in the factors. Male students significantly rated factor 1 more positively. Factor 2 was perceived to a similar degree in all 3 surgical disciplines involved. Factor 3 was rated lower by those students planning a surgical field of postgraduate training. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a valid, reliable, and feasible tool to assess the overall educational climate of undergraduate training in the OR. Calibration of items refined the measurement.

From the pandemic's front lines: A social responsibility initiative to develop an international free online emergency medicine course for medical students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted medical education and forced medical schools to shift to remote teaching. However, in many institutions, this shift was complicated by the lack of previous experience and resources as well as the decreased educational time and effort due to increased clinical load. In April 2020, the International Emergency Medicine (iEM) Education Project embarked upon a social responsibility initiative to ease and facilitate this transition for emergency medicine clerkships. A 4-week open online emergency medicine core content course for medical students covering 11 lessons and 37 topics was created. This course contains a total of 25 hours of content, 66 chapters curated from the free iEM Education Project 2018 eBook and Society of Academic Emergency Medicine curriculum website and 131 videos granted freely by the commercial medical education resources provider, Lecturio. In the first 24 hours, the website was visited 3127 times from 57 countries in 6 continents. While online teaching is not a substitute for in-person clinical teaching, such initiatives can provide resources to clinical teachers who are overwhelmed with clinical duties and an opportunity for medical students from low-resource settings to continue their training safely during the pandemic.

Reflexões sobre a quarentena: uma estratégia de acolhimento de discentes em um grupo de mentoring / Reflections about quarantine: a strategy for undergraduate medical student reception in a mentoring group

Resumo: Introdução: Notícias sobre a pandemia de Covid-19 chegam constantemente via meios de comunicação, e, rapidamente, há elevada sobrecarga de informações e inseguranças cotidianas. Para os estudantes de Medicina, essas mudanças podem ter efeito ainda mais significativo, pois já apresentam certo grau de adoecimento e queda da qualidade de vida pelo estresse acadêmico. Nessas situações, estratégias de reflexão, fala e escuta ativa podem ser úteis para a saúde mental. Relato de experiência: Este relato apresenta, de forma descritiva, a análise reflexiva da percepção discente sobre facilidades e adversidades vivenciadas durante o distanciamento social proporcionado pela pandemia de Covid-19, bem como avalia de que modo a participação na mentoria interferiu nesse processo. Os estudantes responderam a um questionário de seis perguntas abertas sobre as experiências e a saúde mental deles. Esse questionário teve como objetivos refletir sobre o momento e compreendê-lo para melhorar a condução dos encontros do mentoring e minimizar um eventual impacto negativo na saúde mental dos discentes. Após a anuência dos participantes, por meio do Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido (TCLE) aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa, as respostas foram analisadas em anonimato e coletivamente pelos próprios estudantes, de forma categorial temática, encontrando os núcleos de sentido a partir da leitura do corpus textual para identificação das unidades de análises. Discussão: Houve 12 respondentes, o que representa uma taxa de resposta de 92,3% dos estudantes aos quais foi enviado o questionário, no qual apontaram o impacto da pandemia na saúde mental, fizeram uma reflexão interior, indicaram os mecanismos adaptativos e apresentaram os aspectos da mentoria que a tornaram um ambiente seguro e de suporte. Conclusão: A análise revelou que muitos discentes estão enfrentando dificuldades de adaptação, sobretudo quanto à saúde mental, como instabilidade emocional, revolta e frustração. Todavia, relataram-se positividade, desenvolvimento de hobbies e aumento do autoconhecimento e da comunicação com familiares. Apesar das limitações dos encontros remotos, não houve prejuízos de aproveitamento do programa e alcance de seus objetivos.

Abstract: Introduction: The constant stream of news about the Covid-19 pandemic in the media has contributed to information overload and daily insecurities. For medical students, these changes can have an even more significant effect, as they already suffer a certain degree of illness and their quality of life is impaired by academic stress. In these situations, strategies for reflection, speech and active listening can be useful for mental health. Experience report: This report presents, in a descriptive way, the reflective analysis of the student's perception of the facilities and adversities experienced during the social distancing measures enforced by the Covid-19 pandemic and how participation in mentoring interfered in this process. The students answered a questionnaire of six open-ended questions about their experiences and mental health, to reflect and better understand the current situation and thus enhance the mentoring program meetings, supporting and minimizing any negative impact on the students' mental health. After informed consent was agreed by the participants and approval given by the Ethics Committee, thematic content analysis of the answers was performed anonymously and collectively by the students themselves. The core meanings were sought from reading the textual corpus, thus identifying the units of analysis. Discussion: There were twelve respondents, representing a response rate of 92.3% of the students to whom the questionnaire was sent, reporting the impact on their mental health, their inner reflections and adaptive mechanisms and mentoring as a safe environment of support. Conclusion: The analysis revealed that many students are facing difficulties in adapting, especially regarding mental health, reporting issues such as emotional instability, revolt and frustration. However, positivity, development of hobbies, increased self-knowledge and communication with family members were reported. Despite the limitations presented by the remote meetings, there were no adverse effects of using the program and achieving its objectives.

Medical Students' Career Choice and Attitudes Toward Psychiatry: Case of the Czech Republic.

OBJECTIVE: A survey among medical students of all medical schools in the Czech Republic was conducted to investigate attitudes and views of psychiatry and career choice of psychiatry. METHODS: A Czech version of the Attitudes to Psychiatry Scale (APS) and a questionnaire surveying demographic characteristics and choices of future specialty were distributed to all medical students of eight medical schools in the Czech Republic via the schools' internal communication systems in the form of an anonymous online questionnaire. RESULTS: Out of a total of 10,147 medical students in the Czech Republic (academic year 2019/2020), 2418 students participated in the survey (response rate 23.8%). Psychiatry as a non-exclusive career choice was considered by 31.3% respondents; child and adolescent psychiatry was considered by 15.4% respondents. Psychiatry as the only choice was considered by 1.6%, and child and adolescent psychiatry was not considered at all. The interest in both specialties was declining since the first year of study. The status of psychiatry among other medical specialties was perceived as low; students were rather discouraged from entering psychiatry by their families. They did not feel encouraged by their teachers to pursue career in psychiatry despite the fact that they were interested in psychiatry. They also felt uncomfortable with patients with mental illness. CONCLUSIONS: Despite high enthusiasm for psychiatry in the first year of medical school, only a small proportion of medical students consider to choose psychiatry, and especially child and adolescent psychiatry, as a career at the end of medical school.

Fundamentos teóricos de la preparación del estudiante de Estomatología en función de la educación para la salud bucal periodontal / Theoretical foundations of the dentistry students preparation in terms of education for the periodontal oral health

RESUMEN Introducción: La aspiración de egresar un estomatólogo general suficientemente preparado para resolver los problemas de salud bucal periodontal más generales y prevalentes es una exigencia social que se revela en el actual plan de estudio de la carrera de Estomatología. Objetivo: Elaborar unos referentes teóricos de la preparación del estudiante de Estomatología en función de la educación para la salud bucal periodontal. Método: De enero a julio de 2020, en la Facultad de Estomatología de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas Guantánamo se realizó una revisión narrativa sobre el tema a través de una búsqueda en bases de datos electrónicas (Biblioteca Virtual en Salud, LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, REDALYC, Scopus). Se sistematizaron referentes teóricos que sustentan la preparación del estudiante de Estomatología en función de la educación para la salud bucal periodontal. Conclusiones: Se evidencia la necesidad de esta preparación dada su implicación en el modo de actuación profesional para una Atención Bucal Periodontal Integral. Las bases para esta finalidad emergen de la conjugación armoniosa de referentes filosóficos, sociológicos, legales, psicológicos, pedagógicos y didácticos en función de la práctica de la profesión.

ABSTRACT Introduction: The aim to graduate a general dentist with a high standard in knowledge to solve the most general and prevalent periodontal oral health issues is a social demand that is revealed in the current study program of dentistry major. Objective: To elaborate some theoretical references concerning dentistry student preparation in terms of education for periodontal oral health. Method: From January to July 2020, at the Facultad de Estomatología in the Universidad de Ciencias Médicas Guantanamo, a narrative review on the subject was carried out through a search in electronic databases (Virtual Health Library, LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, REDALYC, Scopus). It was systematized all the theoretical references that support the preparation of the dentistry students in terms of education for periodontal oral health. Conclusions: It is evident the necessity of this type of training due to its implication in the way to the best professional performance for an integral oral care. The foundations for achieving this goal emerge from the harmonious conjugation of philosophical, sociological, legal, psychological, pedagogical and didactic referents, in accordance to the practice of the profession.

[Fit for the Future: Development of a seminar on aspects of digitization of healthcare as a contribution of Medical Sociology]. / Fit for the Future - Entwicklung eines Seminars zu Aspekten der Digitalisierung im Gesundheitswesen als Beitrag der Lehre im Fach Medizinische Soziologie.

INTRODUCTION: Topics regarding the digitization of the healthcare system are hardly being addressed during the undergraduate training of medical students, even though the promotion of skills in this area has been defined as a learning goal in the German National Competence-Based Learning Objectives for Undergraduate Medical Education (NKLM) since 2015. At the same time, telemedicine as one part of digitization is becoming increasingly important in the public perception as a tool supplementing access to care. Therefore, the aim was to give medical students in the fourth pre-clinical semester a first insight into topics of telemedicine and other aspects of digitization in the healthcare sector as part of a seminar. METHODS: On the basis of the existing literature, we developed the content and a didactic concept for the seminar "The doctor-patient relationship in the field of technological developments" in the Medical Sociology course for undergraduate medical students in their second year at the University of Lübeck. Inspired by Kirkpatrick's four-level model, the students were asked for topics they wished to cover regarding the digitization of healthcare and telemedicine at the start and their attitudes towards and experiences with telemedicine at the end of the seminar. RESULTS: A total of 184 students from the fourth pre-clinical semester attended the seminar. The survey response rate was 32%. The topics most frequently requested by students were "Legal Framework", "Electronic Patient Record" and "Tele-consultation". 85% of the students rated the topic "digitization of healthcare" as highly relevant for their future profession. Also 85% of the students wished for easy-to-use telemedicine equipment. A third or more of the students reported considerable uncertainty about their ability to evaluate the benefits of health apps. CONCLUSIONS: The contents of the seminar met the students' demands. In the future, topics relating to the digitization of the health system should be increasingly integrated into undergraduate training; also, the students' feeling uncertain about their ability to assess various telemedical applications should be addressed.

A critical evaluation of the material properties and clinical suitability of in-house printed and commercial tooth replicas for endodontic training.

AIM: To assess the suitability of several 3D-printed resins for the manufacturing of tooth replicas for endodontic training in comparison with commercially available replicas by analysing the properties of the materials and comparing them with real teeth during endodontic training. METHODOLOGY: Tooth replicas were 3D-printed using four resins (NextDent Model, NextDent C&B, V-Print ee and Vero White Plus) and compared with two commercially available products (VDW and Smile Factory) as well as extracted human teeth. Martens hardness, indentation modulus and radiopacity were investigated on these tooth replicas. Experienced dentists evaluated the suitability of the replicas for endodontic training by comparing them with real teeth in terms of appearance, anatomy, radiopacity, similarity to dentine during access opening, canal gauging and canal instrumentation. Data were analysed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Mann-Whitney U-test. RESULTS: The greatest hardness values were recorded for human dentine (P < 0.001), followed by V-Print ee and the commercial tooth replica of Smile Factory. The greatest radiopacity was associated with VOC and dentine (P < 0.001) in comparison with the other materials tested. The appearance of the in-house printed tooth replicas was subjectively evaluated by the dentists as being more realistic than the commercially available products. No differences between the replicas was detected during mechanical instrumentation of root canals. CONCLUSION: None of the tooth replicas were able to simulate human dentine from the perspectives evaluated. V-Print ee had radiopacity comparable with dentine, but its hardness was not comparable with dentine.

Comparing Blended Learning with Faculty-Led Ultrasound Training: Protocol for a Randomised Controlled Trial (The SIGNATURE Trial).

Background: Ultrasound is increasingly used in clinical practice as a bedside tool. As medical graduates first encounter the technique in early residency, ultrasound training needs to be integrated into the undergraduate curriculum. In Switzerland, abdominal ultrasound skills have been taught by a faculty-led, 21-hour course. However, this course does not have sufficient capacity to meet the increasing demand, and there have been doubts about its effectiveness as a teaching method. We therefore developed a 21-hour blended-learning course, comprising five hours of e-learning and 16 hours of near-peer tutoring. This study investigates whether this new teaching format is as good as, or superior to, the faculty-led method. Methods: The SIGNATURE study is an investigator-initiated, two-arm, randomised controlled trial, enrolling 152 medical students at the Universities of Bern, Fribourg and Zurich. Stratified by study site, students are 1:1 randomised to either the blended-learning course or the faculty-led 2.5-day ultrasound course. Students undergo a six-station objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and complete an online questionnaire immediately after the course and 6 months later. Discussion: If demonstrated to be effective, the blended-learning course would allow an increase in the number of undergraduate medical students that can acquire ultrasound skills before starting their residencies.