Elective Experience Research Articles

POLITICAL SENTIMENTS OF WESTERN UKRAINIANS DURING ELECTION CAMPAIGNS OF THE POST-WAR PERIOD

The article considers the main manifestations of political sentiments of the population of Western oblasts of Ukraine concerning election campaigns of the post-war period. The factors determining the voting behavior of voters and causes of social deviations are analyzed. It is emphasized that the attitude of the Western Ukrainians to the Soviet election campaigns was primarily determined by the electoral experience they gained while participating in parliamentary structures of Austria-Hungary, interwar Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia. The scheme of stratification of electoral sentiments of the local population by quantitative, social, and political, gender, and other indicators are presented. The dominant anti-Soviet views that were caused by the rejection of Soviet totalitarianism by Western Ukrainians, the predatory economic policy of the government, and activities of the national liberation movement are noted. The specific facts of dissatisfaction of the population with the Soviet electoral legislation, forms and methods of its implementation as well as some measures of the Soviet government aimed at the forced Sovietization of the region are stated. It is determined that the largest group of protest voters was the peasantry, which in the postwar period was in difficult material and living conditions and actively supported the participants of OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists) and UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army). The geography of critical rhetoric suggests the similarity of electoral sentiments in different regions of the republic. However, if Western Ukrainians were not afraid to protest in public, the residents of Greater Ukraine hid their true attitude towards Soviet democracy because of fear of repression. It is claimed that the study of political attitudes of the population in regions where the Soviet regime has not yet been established, and peoplе’s consciousness was free of the Soviet ideological stamps allows reflecting their real state. Keywords: Western regions of the Ukrainian SSR, post-war period, Sovietization, elections to the Supreme Soviets of the USSR and the Ukrainian SSR, political behavior of the population.

Lessons Learned from the Electoral Experience of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet Ve Kalkinma Parti) 2002-2011

This paper examines the electoral process in Turkey concerning the rise of the Justice Development Party (Adalet Ve Kalkinma Parti or AKP) and their experiences in the Turkish electoral process. The evolution of AKP as a major opposition party until its electoral success is explored. The focal point of this paper is to examine the partys evolution, particularly in the area of changes in strategies, political agenda and responses to external and internal challenges. This study fnds that AKP has managed to win consecutive Turkish elections and has maintained its support from the masses by means of moderate and modern approaches and reforms. This study is based on secondary sources. Books and scholarly articles concerning the issue were examined along with newspaper articles. Furthermore, this paper is purely a descriptive one and not based on any particular theory.

1331. Learning Experiences Within Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Residency Programs Demonstrate High Degrees of Consistency

BackgroundPharmacists with residency training in infectious diseases (ID) optimize antimicrobial therapy outcomes in patients and support antimicrobial stewardship programs. The purpose of this study was to describe the learning experiences currently being offered in post-graduate year-2 (PGY-2) ID pharmacy residency programs.MethodsA 19-item, cross-sectional, multi-centered, electronic survey was distributed via e-mail to pharmacy residency program directors (RPDs) of all 101 accredited and nonaccredited PGY-2 ID residency programs in the United States. Programs were identified via the ASHP, ACCP, and SIDP residency directories. Program characteristics inquired via the survey included required and elective learning experiences, research and teaching opportunities, and ID-related committee involvement.ResultsSurvey responses were collected from 71 RPDs (70.3%). Most programs were associated with an academic medical center (64.8%), focused primarily in adult ID (97.2%), and accepted one resident per year (91.6%). Forty-eight (67.6%) institutions also offered an ID physician fellowship program. Microbiology laboratory, adult antimicrobial stewardship (AS), and adult ID consult learning experiences were required in 98.6% of residency programs. Only 28.2% of responding programs required pediatric AS and pediatric ID consult rotations. Greater than 90% of RPDs reported that the resident managed bone and joint, lower respiratory tract, sepsis, urologic, and skin and soft-tissue infections at least once weekly. Travel medicine, parasitic infections, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C were either rarely or never encountered by the resident in 77.5%, 76%, 66.2%, and 50.7% programs, respectively. Residents were frequently involved in AS committees (97.2%), pharmacokinetic dosing of antimicrobials (83.1%), precepting pharmacy trainees (80.3%), and performing research projects (91.5%).ConclusionPGY-2 ID pharmacy residency programs in the United States demonstrated consistency in required adult ID consult, antimicrobial management activities, AS committee service, and teaching and research opportunities. Pediatric experiences were less common. PGY-2 ID residency programs prepare pharmacists to become antimicrobial stewards, particularly in adult patients.Disclosures J. Cho, Allergan: Speaker’s Bureau, Speaker honorarium. M. Crotty, Theravance and Nabriva: Consultant, Consulting fee. E. Chahine, Merck: Speaker’s Bureau, Speaker honorarium. Allergan: Scientific Advisor, Consulting fee. J. Gallagher, Allergan, Astellas, Merck, and Melinta: Speaker’s Bureau, Speaker honorarium. Achaogen, Allergan, Astellas, Cempra, Cidara, CutisPharma, Merck, Paratek, Shionogi, Tetraphase, Theravance, and The Medicines Company: Consultant, Consulting fee. Merck: Grant Investigator, Research grant. S. Estrada, Allergan, Astellas, Merck, T2Biosystems and The Medicines Company: Speaker’s Bureau, Speaker honorarium. The Medicines Company and Theravance: Grant Investigator, Research grant. Astellas, CutisPharma, Theravance, and The Medicines Company: Consultant, Consulting fee.

A Medical Student’s Elective Experience in Pediatric Rheumatology through the Canadian Rheumatology Association

This elective report provides an overview of the experience of a first-year medical student completing a pediatric rheumatology elective through the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA). Students apply to work with a rheumatologist and experience alternating schedules between inpatient and outpatient clinical medicine over the course of the summer. This elective is unique, as it exposes pre-clerkship medical students to learning experiences that will prepare them for clerkship and beyond. It provides practical experience as well as insight into research within the specialty at a world-renowned Canadian academic institution.

Improving safety for medical students and patients during medical electives—a novel simulation-based course

The medical elective is a common component of undergraduate medical education in the UK and Ireland. These are often undertaken in varied hospitals and countries across the world, most of which are not related to their parent institutions, in order to explore specialties and regions of interest. However experiences are varied, with goals not always established beforehand, or indeed reached, when present. Using a novel 20-item, self-administered questionnaire distributed via social media to 436 medical students and doctors in the UK and Republic of Ireland, we sought to delineate common elective experiences and establish what procedures and clinical scenarios medical students commonly undertake and manage during their medical electives, in order to ascertain their confidence level with each of these tasks at the time of their medical electives. We also looked to determine if there are any adverse effects or events related to these situations. Following this, we developed a simulation-based course to address knowledge and skill gaps identified in the above fields. This course was delivered to two groups of medical students from St George's University London and King's College London medical schools by the same faculty over two separate afternoons. We found that a significant proportion of medical students feel pressured to perform skills, which are beyond their competence level during their elective placements, putting both patient and student safety at risk. Our simulation course was successful in significantly improving key technical and non-technical skills, which would be useful for students during their medical electives.

Public Mood, Previous Electoral Experience, and Responsiveness Among Federal Circuit Court Judges

Whether public opinion influences federal judges is a question that has long motivated — but often eluded — scholars. In this paper, we examine two related questions: first, whether federal circuit court judges respond to circuit-level public opinion and, second, whether judges with extensive past elected political experience are even more responsive. The data show that circuit judges indeed respond to public opinion. The results also suggest that judges with greater past elected political experience may be more responsive. The results have implications for democratic control of the unelected judiciary, and suggest that appointing judges with electoral experience could, for better or worse, lead to a more majoritarian judiciary.

Assessing the impact of a didactic lecture for student pharmacists on legislative advocacy

Background and purposeAdvocacy has been defined as “the essential competence”. Literature describes and assesses the impact of elective, extracurricular, and co-curricular advocacy experiences, but there is a deficiency of literature that describes and assesses core curricular advocacy experiences. Educational activity and settingAn electronic pre- and post-survey was administered to second-year student pharmacists who attended a didactic lecture on advocacy within a pharmacy law course. All responses were anonymous and matched via self-generated code. Wilcoxon signed rank tests analyzed matched data. FindingsPharmacy students were generally unaware of their legislative representation and did not know what to expect when meeting with legislators. A small percentage (24%) had previously contacted their legislator regarding pharmacy topics. All three knowledge items and seven of eight attitudes showed statistically significant improvement after the lecture. Following the lecture, 85% of students agreed/strongly agreed they were more prepared to be an advocate for pharmacy, with 76% reporting increased commitment. DiscussionThis study shows that a brief didactic educational intervention may improve student pharmacists’ knowledge of and commitment to political advocacy, addressing previously noted limitations of models to prepare student pharmacists for advocacy efforts. The skill of advocating was not addressed by this intervention. SummaryA brief didactic lecture at one institution showed a short-term positive influence on pharmacy students’ knowledge and attitudes towards legislative advocacy. Introduction of advocacy within the core didactic curricula may provide a method to increase the prevalence of advocates within the profession of pharmacy, but this requires further assessment and identification of best practices.

Physician-Modified Fenestrated Endografts for Managing the Ruptured or Symptomatic Aortic Aneurysm: Technique Overview and Clinical Outcomes.

Fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR) grafts have a 10- to 12-week manufacturing time and are generally not available for emergency cases of symptomatic or ruptured aortic aneurysm. In the absence of other alternatives, conventional off-the-shelf stent grafts can be modified by trained operators to treat these complex cases. The aim of this study is to present a single-center experience of physician-modified FEVAR. A retrospective review was performed of all physician-modified FEVAR identified from the hospital endovascular database at a single tertiary referral center between September 1996 and September 2017. Eight cases of urgent or emergency endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) with physician-modified grafts were identified. Mean follow-up was 44 weeks (range: 5-106 weeks). Outcomes for all implanted grafts (7/8 cases) included 100% technical success, 14% rate of endoleak, no procedure-related complications, no adverse visceral events, 0% 30-day mortality and 100% 1-year target vessel patency, and freedom from aneurysm-related death. There was a 14% (1/7 cases) per patient reintervention rate. Modifying EVAR grafts is a highly technical process requiring meticulous planning and extensive elective experience with FEVAR. The current series demonstrates that physician modification of endografts for urgent or emergency abdominal aortic aneurysm repair is feasible and a safe alternative to open surgical aneurysm repair.

Rural health club program focused on strengthening medical students' intention towards a rural medicine career.

The aim of this study was to investigate the Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland rural health club's impact in strengthening the University of Queensland medical students' interest in a rural career. It is hypothesised that the Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland Rural Elective Experience Scholarship program contributed to participants' intention to practice medicine outside a metropolitan location upon graduation. A retrospective cohort study using a mixed-methods approach. A self-administered online survey was conducted to investigate participants' Year 1 elective rural placement experience and career plans combined with the University of Queensland School of Medicine administrative data. Sixty Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland Rural Elective Experience Scholarship participants from 2012-2015. Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland Rural Elective Experience Scholarship respondents' strengthened their desire to work outside metropolitan locations. Of the 60 Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland Rural Elective Experience Scholarship participants from 2012-2015, 40 (66.7%) responded. Overall, the Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland Rural Elective Experience Scholarship program strengthened 38 (95.0%) respondents' desire to work outside metropolitan locations. Seven respondents have graduated and five (71.4%) of these have chosen to work as an intern in a non-metropolitan location. Qualitative data identified some key themes, including reaffirming of rural practice commitment, the many opportunities for hands-on experience, patient interaction and community engagement. Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland rural health club played a role in promoting interest in rural careers among University of Queensland medical students through the Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland Rural Elective Experience Scholarship program. These early findings show involvement in Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland Rural Elective Experience Scholarship has contributed to participants either intending to, or choosing, a rural medicine career.

A Secretaria Municipal de Educação de Natal e os 30 anos de história das eleições diretas para diretor das unidades de ensino

O presente artigo discute os 30 anos de experiência de eleições diretas para diretor da Rede Pública de Ensino do Município de Natal/RN. Objetivando reconstituir a história desse fenômeno desde a primeira eleição que ocorreu em 1987. A esse objetivo, somam-se dois outros fenômenos que se apresentam no curso desses 30 anos de experiência: a forma de organização das primeiras eleições para a direção das escolas, que se deu em instâncias coletivas de decisão; e a instituição da Lei nº 147/2015, que instaurou na rede pública municipal de ensino, a direção compartilhada por dois diretores: um administrativo-financeiro e outro pedagógico. Assumimos como método para essa pesquisa o Materialismo Histórico e Dialético; e como instrumentos, utilizamos a entrevista livre conversacional e a análise documental. Concluímos que o pioneirismo e inovação na gestão democrática apresentam-se como fenômenos que possibilitam a rede de ensino do Natal experimentar-se democraticamente, muito embora, ainda há muito que se avançar nas práticas democráticas na perspectiva de uma gestão democrática participativa.

International medical electives in selected African countries: a phenomenological study on host experience.

ObjectivesTo explore the host experience on international medical electives at a selection of hospitals in low- and middle-income countries in Africa. Outcomes of the study may inform and improve the preparation of global health curriculum, pre-elective training and debriefing for international medical electives. MethodsA descriptive phenomenological study was undertaken, involving semi-structured interviews with ten elective hosts at seven study sites in three African countries. Purposive convenience sampling augmented by snowballing was utilised to recruit study participants. The data were thematically analysed and interpreted with reflexivity to generate an accurate aggregate of the experience of participants in hosting international medical electives. ResultsSix main themes emerged from the thematic analysis of interview data: international medical student contribution to host hospitals, host professional and personal fulfiment, barriers to student learning experience, international medical student preparedness, hope for reciprocity and barriers to cultural immersion and patient care. ConclusionsStudy participants described the experience of hosting international medical elective students as overwhelmingly positive. However, they highlighted issues such as barriers to students’ learning experience and the lack of reciprocity between host and sending institutions as areas which could be addressed to optimize the experience for both hosts and international medical students. An understanding of the host experience provides stakeholders with a clearer idea of what is important in preparation, organisation and evaluation of the elective experience. This study provides the impetus for further research to examine the effectiveness of introducing appropriate pre-departure training and post-elective debriefing to students embarking on international medical electives.

A Preliminary Qualitative Evaluation of an In-home Geriatric Care Elective Experience for Third-year Medical Students.

Introduction: The aging population is growing quickly and has a higher prevalence of comorbid and chronic diseases. A majority of this group resides in the home setting. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of third-year medical students following a pilot component of an internal medicine clerkship, consisting of four in-home visits with geriatric patients.Methods: A qualitative study design, utilizing focus groups, was used to assess general themes in students’ responses regarding their attitudes to geriatrics, the field of geriatrics and the in-home care pilot program.Results: Twelve students participated in three focus group sessions. Six themes were identified across all focus group sessions. These included 1) distinct advantages to the home setting, 2) more time for relationship building, 3) increased insight to the aging process, 4) increased compassion, 5) suggestions for program improvement, and 6) future quality of care.Conclusion: The results demonstrate that students found the program to be of value to their medical education. Students developed positive attitudes and compassion for the elderly community. The insight they gained during this program may allow them to understand their role in caring for increasing numbers of aging patients in future populations. Suggestions made by the students showed their perceived value of the program and desire for it to continue for future students. Future studies should utilize validated tools and more longitudinal study designs to assess temporal changes in attitudes.

Party Identification in an Encapsulated Party System: The Case of Postauthoritarian Chile

Since the return of democracy, party identification has been declining sharply among the Chilean public. We seek to understand this process by applying an age-period-cohort analysis to survey data from 1994 to 2014. In light of the elite-driven and socially uprooted character, or what we call the encapsulated nature, of the Chilean party system, we hypothesize that cumulative electoral experience has had a negative effect on party identification and not the positive effect that Converse's (1969) social-learning model would predict. Our findings support these expectations but also reveal large period effects that have shrunk the overall level of partisan identification and significant cohort effects whereby generations born after the 1950s have become less partisan. We also uncover important nuances that occur across the various mainstream political parties. We conclude that all three sources of social change are leading toward the extinction of mass partisanship from Chilean society.

Social Networks, Predispositions and Split-Ticket Voting: The Case of the 1990 German Unification Election

When casting a split-ticket ballot, voters in established democracies have strong political predispositions and electoral experience that influence their decision. However, voters in a new democracy, lacking long-term party attachment and experience with democracy, may instead be informed and motivated by their social networks. Using the 1990 Cross-National Election Project German Unification study, I examine which factors predict split-ticket voting for East and West Germans. I find that political disagreement within a social network is more influential for East Germans, while partisan predispositions, particularly party supporter type, play a greater role for West Germans. These findings indicate that, in absence of competition between long-term partisanship and democratic experience, network characteristics may have a profound impact on political decision-making.

The personal vote, electoral experience, and local connections: Explaining retirement underperformance at UK elections 1987–2010

At each election, some Members of Parliament (MPs) decide to step down. Irrespective of their motivation, retirement has an electoral impact; their party’s constituency vote share experiences a ‘slump’. Conventional wisdom attributes this underperformance to the loss of the retiring MP’s personal vote. This article uses aggregate-level data covering UK general elections between 1987 and 2010 to demonstrate whether this explanation is supported. It also examines whether political parties can mediate such underperformances by considering the electoral experience and local connections of candidates contesting the post-retirement election. The article finds mixed evidence for the link between personal votes and underperformance. However, parties should pay close attention to the candidates selected to fight the post-retirement election. If an inheritor wants to win a national government or opposition seat, experience and local ties can be harmful. Also, schooling and other local ties enable candidates to mount effective challenges to government and opposition inheritors.

Community Health, Advocacy, and Managing Populations (CHAMP) Longitudinal Residency Education and Evaluation.

Longitudinal education initiatives designed to prepare residents to address health disparities and social determinants of health (SDH) are needed. This report addresses this gap by describing a family medicine residency's Community Health, Advocacy, and Managing Populations (CHAMP) curriculum and its evaluation by learners, faculty, and community partners. The CHAMP longitudinal curriculum is explicitly designed to prepare residents to address health disparities and SDH. We report early outcomes, including community partner feedback, of this innovative curriculum. Data were obtained through standardized rotation evaluations, thematic analysis of structured group and individual interviews, and aggregated competency milestone data. Kirkpatrick's four-level model to evaluate effectiveness of training was used to frame design and analysis of learner, faculty, and community partner evaluations. Twenty residents have completed the year-one curriculum, 8 residents the year-two curriculum, and 8 residents the year-two and year-three elective. Community partners, residents, faculty, and leadership all were satisfied with the curriculum, particularly regarding relationship building and mentorship. Overall satisfaction with the rotation, quantitatively and qualitatively, was positive. Competency milestone ratings improved within each year of training: first-year residents by 0.6 (3.0 for 2015-2016 and 3.6 for 2016-2017) and second-year residents by 0.1 (5.2 vs 5.3). The CHAMP curriculum uniquely a) spans all three years of residency; b) combines block mandatory rotations with a longitudinal elective experience; and c) integrates community health, advocacy, and managing populations to meet accreditation requirements and prepare residents to address health disparities and SDH.

Association of Integrated Care Coordination With Postsurgical Outcomes in High-Risk Older Adults

Older adults undergoing elective surgery experience higher rates of preventable postoperative complications than younger patients. To assess clinical outcomes for older adults undergoing elective abdominal surgery via a collaborative intervention by surgery, geriatrics, and anesthesia focused on perioperative health optimization. Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health (POSH) is a quality improvement initiative with prospective data collection. Participants in an existing geriatrics-based clinic within a single-site academic health center were included if they were at high risk for complications (ie, older than 85 years or older than 65 years with cognitive impairment, recent weight loss, multimorbidity, or polypharmacy) undergoing elective abdominal surgery. Outcomes were compared with a control group of patients older than 65 years who underwent similar surgeries by the same group of general surgeons immediately before implementation of POSH. Primary outcomes included length of stay, 7- and 30-day readmissions, and level of care at discharge. Secondary outcomes were delirium and other major postoperative complications. Outcomes data were derived from institutional databases linked with electronic health records and billing data sets. One hundred eighty-three POSH patients were compared with 143 patients in the control group. On average, patients in the POSH group were older compared with those in the control group (75.6 vs 71.9 years; P < .001; 95% CI, 2.27 to 5.19) and had more chronic conditions (10.6 vs 8.5; P = .001; 95% CI, 0.86 to 3.35). Median length of stay was shorter among POSH patients (4 days vs 6 days; P < .001; 95% CI, -1.06 to -4.21). Patients in the POSH group had lower readmission rates at 7 days (5 of 180 [2.8%] vs 14 of 142 [9.9%]; P = .007; 95% CI, 0.09 to 0.74) and 30 days (14 of 180 [7.8%] vs 26 of 142 [18.3%]; P = .004; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.75) and were more likely to be discharged home with self-care (114 of 183 [62.3%] vs 73 of 143 [51.1%]; P = .04; 95% CI, 1.02 to 2.47). Patients in the POSH group experienced fewer mean number of complications (0.9 vs 1.4; P < .001; 95% CI, -0.13 to -0.89) despite higher rates of documented delirium (52 of 183 [28.4%] vs 8 of 143 [5.6%]; P < .001; 95% CI, 3.06 to 14.65). A greater proportion of POSH patients underwent laparoscopic procedures (92 of 183 [50%] vs 55 of 143 [38.5%]; P = .001; 95% CI, 1.04 to 2.52). Tests for interactions between POSH patients and procedure type were insignificant for all outcomes. Despite higher mean age and morbidity burden, older adults who participated in an interdisciplinary perioperative care intervention had fewer complications, shorter hospitalizations, more frequent discharge to home, and fewer readmissions than a comparison group.

Hand surgeon - to be or not to be? That is the question. Compulsory health service experience of hand surgery in Turkey

Objectives: Hand surgery has been a major theme throughout the education of orthopedics and traumatology (OT) along with plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic (PRA) surgery residents. However, to work as a hand surgeon during compulsory health service (CHS) is a new topic for Turkey. We aimed to share the elective surgical experience of six hand surgeons during CHS in different centers of Turkey. Methods: The hand surgeons who have already finished their CHS or were up to finish their CHS was requested to fill operation records (OR) form for elective procedures performed in the surgeon's usual daily practice. The records from all six surgeons were integrated. Results: Five OT and one PRA originated hand surgeons were available for this study. Tendon procedures were the most commonly performed procedure (14.3%), followed by phalanx (10.6%), and then by nerve (10.4%) procedures. A small percentage (2.7%) of operations performed were beyond the scope of hand surgery. Simple procedures (trigger finger release, carpal tunnel release, foreign material extraction, ganglion cysts excision, de Quervain's tenosynovitis release) were comprising 20.9% of all the operations performed. Conclusion: Hand surgery comprises a broad spectrum of disorders and requires a distinct fellowship period. Hand surgeons bear an important mission about basic hand surgery education of OT and PRA residents and encourage them to perform simple procedures. The possibility of team-work will definitely increase the interest for hand surgery and result in better outcomes for patients. Finally, we honestly declare that we feel satisfied with our special work and invite residents to walk together in this endless hand surgery road.

Inspiring the next generation of academic physicians: the academic health careers program

ABSTRACTThere is growing evidence in the medical education literature for the aggressive need to recruit and retain the next generation of academic physicians. In 2008, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine (UK COM) developed an academic health careers (AHCs) program for preclinical medical students as an introduction into the practice of academic medicine. The goals of this elective experience included (1) highly customized training and mentorship experiences in research, teaching, and other aspects of academic medicine; (2) information and perspectives to assist students in making informed career choices, including options for academic careers; (3) access to academic career mentors and role models related to individual faculty research interests and teaching responsibilities; and (4) opportunities to network with UK COM administrators. This short communication provides a detailed overview of the AHC experience – along with preliminary findings from a 2016–17 follow-up of program graduates exploring the program’s role in their career aspirations and decisions.

Enhancing dental electives through participatory research

Completion of an elective project at the University of Glasgow Dental School is a progression requirement that entails a period of self-directed and enquiry-led learning. This study sought to uncover students’ expectations and perspectives of their elective experience as there is a scarcity of supporting literature to determine if this activity has significant educational value. This qualitative study utilised a participatory research methodology,ensuring that students were at the centre of the enquiry process. Three student co-researchers analysed data collected from their peers, using a questionnaire and a focus group meeting. The findings support maintaining autonomous, enquiry-led, independent learning-focused electives and also highlight aspects of the elective which students particularly valued. This has allowed a deeper understanding of students’ perceptions of, and motivations for, particular elective projects, enabling the elective programme to respond to changing environments in education and global health. The outcomes of this study have informed the redesign of the dental elective study programme and the associated quality assurance process.