Anesthesia Education Research Articles

Welcoming a New Anesthesiology Editor: Peter Nagele, M.D., M.Sc.

Special Announcement| June 2023 Welcoming a New Anesthesiology Editor: Peter Nagele, M.D., M.Sc. Anesthesiology June 2023, Vol. 138, 584. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000004576 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation Welcoming a New Anesthesiology Editor: Peter Nagele, M.D., M.Sc.. Anesthesiology 2023; 138:584 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000004576 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll PublicationsAnesthesiology Search Advanced Search Topics: abdominal aortic aneurysm, american academy of arts and sciences, anesthesia for trauma procedures, arts, austria, awards and prizes, cardiac event, clinical method training, genetic epidemiology, major depressive disorder Peter Nagele, M.D., M.Sc., is the newest editor for Anesthesiology. Dr. Nagele is Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Chicago with a secondary appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences. He completed his M.D. at University of Innsbruck, Austria, and his clinical training at the Vienna General Hospital (AKH), Medical University of Vienna, Austria, and obtained M.Sc. degrees in both Clinical Investigation and Genetic Epidemiology at Washington University in St. Louis. His clinical interests are in civilian and military trauma anesthesia and perioperative medicine. He is a National Institutes of Health–funded investigator with an active research program in exploring the use of nitrous oxide in the treatment of major depression and studying cardiac events after noncardiac surgery. Nagele is a former recipient of a Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER)–mentored research training grant (2008) and the Presidential Scholar Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists... You do not currently have access to this content.

17 Beta-estradiol impedes aortic root dilation and rupture in male Marfan mice

Background: Marfan syndrome causes a hereditary form of TAA with dilation of the aortic root. Male patients with Marfan syndrome are more likely than women to have aortic dilation and dissection and mouse models of Marfan syndrome demonstrate larger aortic roots in males compared to females even after adjustment for body size. In this study we examine the effects of estrogen17 β-estradiol on aortic dilation and rupture in a Marfan mouse model. Methods: Marfan male mice were administered estrogen17 β-estradiol pellets with 60 day release and the growth in aortic root size was measured every 2 weeks for 8 weeks. Aortic root tissue from vehicle and 17 b-estradiol mice were subjected to proteomic analysis and bioinformatics was used to ascertain enriched pathways. Marfan mice with and without 17 b-estradiol were also treated with continuous angiotensin II infusion and survival was determined for 30 days. Results: Male Marfan mice with estrogen17 β-estradiol had a significant reduction in the ratio of aortic diameter 8 weeks after pellet implantation to baseline aortic diameter compared to the same ratio in Marfan mice with sham surgery. Proteomic analysis demonstrated complement C3 and C4 protein upregulation in Marfan mice compared to wild type and Marfan mice treated with 17 b-estradiol. Aortic smooth muscle cells express complement components in vivo and in vitro and expression of these factors are regulated by cytokines and estrogen17 β-estradiol in vitro. Additionally, 17 b-estradiol and female sex protect against aortic rupture when Marfan mice are treated with continuous infusion of angiotensin II and this protection correlates with lower protein levels of C3. Conclusions: Our findings support a protective role of 17 b-estradiol in preventing the dilation and rupture of aortic roots in Marfan male mice and suggest that these therapeutic actions may develop through anti-inflammatory properties. FAER Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Incidence and between-center heterogeneity of anesthesia-related complications in pediatric populations documented in administrative data: A retrospective study.

Incidence and between-center heterogeneity of anesthesia-related complications in pediatric populations documented in administrative data: A retrospective study.

Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice in an Online Faculty Development Course for Anesthesia Educators in East Africa.

Faculty in low-resourced communities often have limited training on teaching and learning. An innovative, online, 13-week course using a flipped classroom model was developed for junior faculty anesthesiologists at teaching hospitals in East Africa and piloted in Ethiopia and Tanzania. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed to evaluate potential change in participants' knowledge, skills, and attitudes as well as the feasibility of e-learning in the region. Analysis of data revealed that top areas of change in participants' knowledge were in the flipped classroom approach (increased by 79%), effective mentoring practices (67%), and elements of effective course goals and objectives (58%). Leading areas of change in skills were in developing goals and objectives (72%), using case-based learning (67%), and engaging learners through PowerPoint (64%). Change in attitudes was largest in the areas of effective mentoring and strong leadership (27%), using course and lecture learning objectives (26%), and student-centered learning theory (26%). Qualitative data revealed that participants were satisfied with the course; found the structure, presentations, and delivery methods to be effective; and appreciated the flexibility of being online but experienced challenges, particularly in connectivity. This evaluation demonstrated the efficacy of using e-learning in East Africa and highlights the innovation of online faculty development in a region where it has not been done before. By using participants as future instructors, this course is scalable in the region and worldwide, and it can help address limited access to training by providing a critical mass of trainers competent in teaching, mentoring, and leading.

Quality of Life After Critical Illness.

1 Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA. 2 Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. 3 Ariadne Labs, Boston, MA. *See also p. 632. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of others. Support was provided solely from institutional sources. Dr. Arriaga is the recipient of: 1) a mentored research training grant from the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) and the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) and 2) a Career Development Award from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is also a member of the Patient Safety Editorial Board for the American Society of Anesthesiologists and Question Editor/Examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology, where he receives a stipend for work that is otherwise done in a volunteer capacity. He received funding from the American Society of Anesthesiologists Patient Safety Editorial Board, the American Board of Anesthesiology, the Minority Faculty Career Development Award from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the APSF, and the FAER. Dr. Allen has disclosed that he does not have any potential conflicts of interest.

Request for Nominations: 2023 ASA Nicholas M. Greene, MD, Award

ASA News| April 2023 Request for Nominations: 2023 ASA Nicholas M. Greene, MD, Award ASA Monitor April 2023, Vol. 87, 31. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000925012.84363.f7 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation Request for Nominations: 2023 ASA Nicholas M. Greene, MD, Award. ASA Monitor 2023; 87:31 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000925012.84363.f7 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll PublicationsASA Monitor Search Advanced Search ASA and the Committee on Global Health have recognized the humanitarian contributions of an ASA member annually for the past 11 years by conferring the Nicholas M. Greene, MD, Award for Outstanding Humanitarian Contribution. In 2023, we again wish to confer this award in recognition of an ASA member anesthesiologist whose career has supported international anesthetic education, care, and volunteerism. Please nominate yourself or a colleague who has been involved in this capacity. A nomination application is available on the ASA website at asahq.org/charity/programs/humanitarianaward. Applications require a nominating letter, updated CV, no more than five pages of support material, and a statement that the nominee agrees to the nomination. All applications are due no later than April 30, 2023, and can be submitted to s.braun@asahq.org. The award will be presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2023 in San Francisco, California, which takes place on October 13-17. You do not currently have access to this content.

A comparison of simulation and traditional local anesthesia teaching methods among dental hygiene students.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced dental educators to quickly modify the teaching-learning platform without testing outcomes of alternative teaching methods prior to implementation. One critical course affected was the teaching of local anesthesia (LA) that moved from practicing injections using the traditional student-to-student method to the simulation model using manikins. This study compared two LA teaching methods (student-to-student versus simulation) in two consecutive cohorts before and during the pandemic to assess differences in students' skill level and self-confidence. This quasi-experimental study recruited a convenience sample of dental hygiene students at the University of Minnesota during 2020 and 2021. Consent was collected prior to student-to-student injection practice and survey distribution. Data collected were clinical and summative clinical assessments to determine LA skill level, and student surveys to assess self-confidence. Analyses included descriptive statistics, linear models within and between cohorts, and inductive analysis for qualitative survey responses. Fifty of 57 students (88%) completed the survey, and 54 (95%) consented access to their clinical assessments. Skill level was significantly higher for the simulation cohort compared to the student-to-student cohort on the LA summative clinical assessment (59.0vs. 55.6, p=0.004). No differences were found in self-confidence between cohorts. A positive association was found between students' self-confidence and skill levels for both cohorts, but only student-to-student cohort results were statistically significant (student-to-student: r=0.44, p=0.02; simulation: r=0.24, p=0.26). Results support incorporating simulation manikin teaching methods for LA with a student-to-student partner component.

Obstetric anaesthesia manpower and service provision issues (introduction and European perspective)

Global health is an important and far-reaching concept in which health and access to surgical and anaesthetic care is crucial. Universal access to anaesthesia is a challenge in many countries. Manpower shortages are an important cause of difficulties and each European country has found different ways of facing a lack of healthcare professionals. In obstetric anaesthesia, the availability of competent anaesthesiologists has been related to the morbidity and mortality outcomes of patients.In this narrative review, authors from different European countries explain how manpower is managed in obstetric anaesthesia in delivery suites and obstetric operating rooms in different settings. To address manpower difficulties and issues, the goals are to achieve a minimum standard of care and at the same time, to promote clinical excellence through training, delegation to younger or less experienced colleagues, direct or at-a-distance supervision, or other means.The experience of sharing knowledge about the way in which manpower and service provision are organised in other healthcare settings is a significant opportunity to develop strategies for advancing tomorrow’s obstetric anaesthesia in the world. While taking into account the level of socio-economic development in different countries, the aim is to standardise practice and workload organisation. Co-operative international projects in training and education in obstetric anaesthesia are ways in which better obstetric patient care can be achieved in the future.

Education in Anesthesiology: Crisis, Values and Perspectives

Background: The teaching-learning process is a fundamental competence in high-risk environments such as the operating room. Although conventional approaches are based on learning from negative performance, it is convenient to visualize the virtuous behavior of actors in specialties where security events are latent. Objective: to explore through a survey the perception of crisis in the teaching of anesthesia in Mexico, and to identify the possible causes and precipitating factors. Methods: A prospective observational design was used, prior approval from the research ethics committee. It was studied by means of a survey with 40 items to people who carry out their professional practice in the Mexican Republic. The positive and/or negative characteristics of specialists, student teachers, the educational program and work environment were explored. Results: 1,125 participants responded. The highest percentage believed that there is a severe deficit in the teaching of the specialty, indicating in descending order the students, the work environment, and in similar proportions, the structure of the program and the characteristics of the teachers as the causes. Significant statistical differences were found in the attitude and values of the residents, in lack of adherence to educational programs, in the lack of stimuli, motivation and lack of recognition and encouragement to teachers, p < 0.000. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that anesthesiologists are doing many things "right", but the existing educational deficit can be corrected to avoid an eventual crisis, suggesting a clinical practice based on evidence and values in a better environment.

Ethiopian Anesthetist Licensing Examination: A Qualitative Study of Concerns and Unintended Consequences.

Ethiopia increased its anesthesia workforce drastically by expanding the training of associate clinician anesthetists. Following this expansion, the Ministry of Health established an entry-level anesthesia licensing examination to ensure patient safety. However, there is limited empirical evidence on the impacts of licensing exams in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to explore the concerns and undesirable consequences of the anesthetist licensing examination in Ethiopia. A qualitative design using a grounded theory approach was employed by collecting data from 10 anesthesia teaching institutions. We conducted 15 in-depth interviews with instructors and six focus groups with students and graduates who took the exam recently. Interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Atlas.ti 23. We also extracted secondary data from the academic committee meeting minutes, curricula, faculty appraisal reports, and program quality self-review reports. Qualitative analysis revealed three central categories of concerns and untoward consequences of the anesthetist NLE: exam management, educational management, and student behavior. Exam management concerns were related to exam validity, fairness, and consistent enforcement of pass/fail decisions. The unintended consequences of the exam on education management were perceived as promoting teaching and learning for the exam, increasing faculty workload, and resulting in superficial and patchy educational reforms. Study participants also reported adverse psychosocial effects and increased cheating behaviors among students as undesirable consequences of the exam on student behavior. Our study identified some concerns and unintended consequences of the Ethiopian anesthetist licensing examination. These lessons learned may contribute to improving the quality of licensing examinations in Ethiopia and beyond.

The Frail Elderly Patient and the Need for a Video Store on Regional Anaesthesia Blocks

The Frail Elderly Patient and the Need for a Video Store on Regional Anaesthesia Blocks

Active Learning Methodologies in a High Stakes Graduate Nursing Program

Active learning with student engagement has been demonstrated to improve knowledge retention and improve learning in graduate education. Nurse anesthesia education has traditionally been taught using lecture with slide presentations without considering student centered learning. Much attention has been given to active learning strategies to promote student engagement and content retention, yet little information exists regarding student preferences for in higher level graduate nursing courses. This mixed-methods study aimed to examine student learning preferences for seven different instructional methodologies; traditional lecture, a problem-based learning exercise, reading with workbook assignments, development of cognitive aids, game-based learning, practice questions, and a case study, as well as to which were best to learn by. Students prefer game-based learning, practice questions, and assigned reading with workbooks over lecture and other active learning exercises and reported game-based learning and workbooks from assigned readings as easiest to methods by which to learn.

Evaluation of Students’ Opinion on Local Anesthesia Education and Efficiency of Conduction Anesthesia Model in Dentistry

Evaluation of Students’ Opinion on Local Anesthesia Education and Efficiency of Conduction Anesthesia Model in Dentistry

Effectiveness of Simulation- Versus Didactic Video-Based Learning to Teach Advanced Lung Isolation Techniques

Mastery of lung isolation is crucial for optimal cardiothoracic anesthesia education. The authors tested the hypothesis that simulation- is more effective than didactic video-based learning (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) to teach anesthesiology fellows advanced lung isolation techniques. A prospective randomized study. At a single academic heart center, simulation laboratory. Thirty anesthesiology fellows with equivalent prior experience in basic lung isolation techniques. Randomized participants received 1 of 2 structured educational interventions of equivalent duration designed to teach advanced lung isolation skills, a simulation workshop, or a video-based didactic session. To assess Bloom's taxonomy domains, performance measurements included pre- and postintervention cognitive tests and affective surveys and a postintervention psychomotor task (time to complete lung isolation). Changes in test and survey scores and time to completion were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test; p values < 0.05 were considered significant. Improvements in lung isolation learning assessments were greater in the simulation group, but significant differences only existed in the affective domain. Specifically, affective survey score increases were greater in the simulation group (simulation- versus video-based didactic: +19.0 v +4.0; p ≤ 0.001), whereas there was no significant difference in cognitive pre- to posttest scores (simulation- versus video-based: +28.6 v +19.1, p=0.23), and time to achieve lung isolation (simulation- versus video-based: 32 v 36 seconds, p=0.46). Although greater affective learning of advanced lung isolation skills occurred with simulation-based compared to didactic video-based education, the authors found no differences between the teaching approaches in cognitive and psychomotor learning among anesthesiology fellows.

David O. Warner, M.D., Recipient of the 2022 Excellence in Research Award

David O. Warner, M.D., Recipient of the 2022 Excellence in Research Award

Vivianne Tawfik, M.D., Ph.D., a Recipient of the 2022 James E. Cottrell, M.D., Presidential Scholar Award

Vivianne Tawfik, M.D., Ph.D., a Recipient of the 2022 James E. Cottrell, M.D., Presidential Scholar Award

A Call to Action: A Specialty-Specific Course to Support the Next Generation of Clinician Scientists in Anesthesiology.

Clinical production pressure is a significant problem for faculty of anesthesiology departments who seek to remain involved in research. Lack of protected time to dedicate to research and insufficient external funding add to this long-standing issue. Recent trends in funding to the departments of anesthesiology and their academic output validate these concerns. A 2022 study examining National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant recipients associated with anesthesiology departments across 10 years (2011-2020) outlines total awarded funds at $1,676,482,440, with most of the funds awarded to only 10 departments in the United States. Of note, the total 1-year NIH funding in 2021 for academic internal medicine departments was 3 times higher than the 10-year funding of anesthesiology departments. Additionally, American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) diplomats represent a minority (37%) of the anesthesiology researchers obtaining grant funding, with a small number of faculty members receiving a prevalence of monies. Overall, the number of publications per academic anesthesiologist across the United States remains modest as does the impact of the scholarly work. Improving environments in which academic anesthesiologists thrive may be paramount to successful academic productivity. In fact, adding to the lack of academic time is the limited bandwidth of senior academic physicians to mentor and support aspiring physician scientists. Given then the challenges for individual departments and notable successes of specialty-specific collaborative efforts (eg, Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research [FAER]), additional pooled-resource approaches may be necessary to successfully support and develop clinician scientists. It is in this spirit that the leadership of Anesthesia & Analgesia and The Journal of Education in Perioperative Medicine, unified with the Association of University Anesthesiologists, aim to sponsor the Introduction to Clinical Research for Academic Anesthesiologists (ICRAA) Course. Directed toward early career academic anesthesiologists who wish to gain competency specifically in the fundamentals of clinical research and receive mentorship to develop an investigative project, the yearlong course will provide participants with the skills necessary to design research initiatives, ethically direct research teams, successfully communicate ideas with data analysts, and write and submit scientific articles. Additionally, the course, articulated in a series of interactive lectures, mentored activities, and workshops, will teach participants to review articles submitted for publication to medical journals and to critically appraise evidence in published research. It is our hope that this initiative will be of interest to junior faculty of academic anesthesiology departments nationally and internationally.

A Call to Action: A Specialty-Specific Course to Support the Next Generation of Clinician Scientists in Anesthesiology.

Clinical production pressure is a significant problem for faculty of anesthesiology departments who seek to remain involved in research. Lack of protected time to dedicate to research and insufficient external funding add to this long-standing issue. Recent trends in funding to the departments of anesthesiology and their academic output validate these concerns. A 2022 study examining National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant recipients associated with anesthesiology departments across 10 years (2011-2020) outlines total awarded funds at $1,676,482,440, with most of the funds awarded to only 10 departments in the United States. Of note, the total 1-year NIH funding in 2021 for academic internal medicine departments was 3 times higher than the 10-year funding of anesthesiology departments. Additionally, American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) diplomats represent a minority (37%) of the anesthesiology researchers obtaining grant funding, with a small number of faculty members receiving a prevalence of monies. Overall, the number of publications per academic anesthesiologist across the United States remains modest as does the impact of the scholarly work. Improving environments in which academic anesthesiologists thrive may be paramount to successful academic productivity. In fact, adding to the lack of academic time is the limited bandwidth of senior academic physicians to mentor and support aspiring physician scientists. Given then the challenges for individual departments and notable successes of specialty-specific collaborative efforts (eg Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research [FAER]), additional pooled-resource approaches may be necessary to successfully support and develop clinician scientists. It is in this spirit that the leadership of Anesthesia and Analgesia and the Journal of Education in Perioperative Medicine, unified with the Association of University Anesthesiologists, aim to sponsor the Introduction to Clinical Research for Academic Anesthesiologists (ICRAA) Course. Directed toward early career academic anesthesiologists who wish to gain competency specifically in the fundamentals of clinical research and receive mentorship to develop an investigative project, the yearlong course will provide participants with the skills necessary to design research initiatives, ethically direct research teams, successfully communicate ideas with data analysts, and write and submit scientific articles. Additionally, the course, articulated in a series of interactive lectures, mentored activities, and workshops, will teach participants to review articles submitted for publication to medical journals and to critically appraise evidence in published research. It is our hope that this initiative will be of interest to junior faculty of academic anesthesiology departments nationally and internationally.

Evaluation of Open Access Websites for Anesthesia Education.

While the prevalence of free, open access medical education resources for health professionals has expanded over the past 10 years, many educational resources for health care professionals are not publicly available or require fees for access. This lack of open access creates global inequities in the availability and sharing of information and may have the most significant impact on health care providers with the greatest need. The extent of open access online educational websites aimed for clinicians and trainees in anesthesiology worldwide is unknown. In this study, we aimed to identify and evaluate the quality of websites designed to provide open access educational resources for anesthesia trainees and clinicians. A PubMed search of articles published between 2009 and 2020, and a Startpage search engine web search was conducted in May 2021 to identify websites using the following inclusion criteria: (1) contain educational content relevant for anesthesia providers or trainees, (2) offer content free of charge, and (3) are written in the English language. Websites were each scored by 2 independent reviewers using a website quality evaluation tool with previous validity evidence that was modified for anesthesia (the Anesthesia Medical Education Website Quality Evaluation Tool). Seventy-five articles and 175 websites were identified; 37 websites met inclusion criteria. The most common types of educational content contained in the websites included videos (66%, 25/37), text-based resources (51%, 19/37), podcasts (35%, 13/37), and interactive learning resources (32%, 12/37). Few websites described an editorial review process (24%, 9/37) or included opportunities for active engagement or interaction by learners (30%,11/37). Scores by tertile differed significantly across multiple domains, including disclosure of author/webmaster/website institution; description of an editorial review process; relevancy to residents, fellows, and faculty; comprehensiveness; accuracy; disclosure of content creation or revision; ease of access to information; interactivity; clear and professional presentation of information; and links to external information. We found 37 open access websites for anesthesia education available on the Internet. Many of these websites may serve as a valuable resource for anesthesia clinicians looking for self-directed learning resources and for educators seeking to curate resources into thoughtfully integrated learning experiences. Ongoing efforts are needed to expand the number and improve the existing open access websites, especially with interactivity, to support the education and training of anesthesia providers in even the most resource-limited areas of the world. Our findings may provide recommendations for those educators and organizations seeking to fill this needed gap to create new high-quality educational websites.

Students’ learning approaches as a factor of academic achievement at selected public universities: A cross-sectional study

IntroductionExcellence in anesthesia education has been advocated to meet the current and future needs of society. Universities play a key role in creating a conducive climate for learning and facilitating the development of expected competencies among graduates. This study assessed students’ learning approaches and their relationship with their academic achievement at two selected public universities in Ethiopia.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 123 anesthesia students. All 3rd- and 4th-year students were recruited for the study. Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) was used to assess students’ learning approaches. Perceived performance, cumulative grade point average (cGPA), and 100 MCQ items were used to assess academic achievement. Data were entered into Epi-data and exported to SPSS for statistical analysis. An independent t-test was used to determine the presence of a difference in academic achievement across learning approaches. Bivariate and multivariable linear regressions were fitted to assess the association of students’ characteristics and learning approaches with their academic achievement. A P-value of less than 0.05 was used to declare the statistical significance.ResultThere were no statistically significant differences between the groups on most of the learning approaches and academic achievement measures. In multivariable linear regression, university entrance exam results, students’ perception of the definition of learning, and a deep approach to learning were found to be the predictors of students’ academic achievement (β = 0.004 and P = 0.03, β = 0.14 and P = 0.015, and β = 0.13 and P = 0.023), respectively.ConclusionIn this study, students mainly follow deep approaches to learning, and there were no statistically significant differences between the groups on most of the learning approach measures and academic achievements. Entrance exam results, positive perception of the definition of learning, and a deep approach to learning were found to be positive predictors of academic achievement. Emphasis has to be given to improving students’ learning approaches for better academic achievement and success.