Participation In Course Research Articles

The failure of medical education to develop moral reasoning in medical students

Objectives The goal of this study was to determine differences in moral judgment among students in medical school.Methods This cross-sectional study involved students currently enrolled in undergraduate medical education. Recruited via email, 192 students took an online version of the Defining Issues Test to determine their current stage of moral judgment, as well as their percentage of post conventional thought. Independent variables included year of graduation, which indicated curriculum completion as well as participation in a professionalism course. Data was analyzed primarily using One-Way Analysis of Variance.Results Of the 192 participants, 165 responses were utilized. ANOVA showed no significant differences in moral judgment between or among any of the student cohorts, which were grouped by year of matriculation. Comparisons included students in the four years of medical school, divided by graduation year; students about to graduate (n=30) vs. those still in school (n=135); and students who had participated in a course in professionalism (n=91) vs. those who had not (n=74). Conclusions These results demonstrate a lack of evolution in the moral reasoning of medical students and raise the issue of what might stimulate positive changes in moral judgment during the medical school experience.

Profile of food handlers in the home

This article seeks to diagnose the profile of food handlers in the households of the city of Santa Maria in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. By geographical division of the city, a sample of 15 households per neighborhood was chosen, totaling 615 households. For the diagnosis of the profile of handlers in the households, a questionnaire was prepared, containing 6 open questions and 13 closed questions related to personal data including gender, marital status, education, occupation and monthly income. Issues such as the frequency with which people prepare meals in the households and satisfaction in preparing them, as well as participation in courses and the perception of food safety, were also addressed. It was found that 92.5% of the food handlers were female, 52.2% had complete or incomplete primary school and 35.4% had a monthly income of between 3 and 9 minimum wages. Among those interviewed, 82.6% reported that they prepare meals every day of the week and 77.9% reported that they never had problems caused by the food produced at home. It is important to evaluate the profile of food handlers in the households, as this makes it possible to develop strategies to prevent or diminish foodborne diseases.

Professional Development of Physiotherapy Students During Msc Studies

Abstract Introduction: Lack of legal regulations regarding the profession of physiotherapist in Poland results in lack of formal obligation to develop professionally which characterises other medical professions. Physiotherapists may raise their qualifications by participating in specialisation courses commissioned by the Medical Centre of Postgraduate Studies (Centrum Medyczne Kształcenia Podyplomowego). Outside the system of education, the education market offers a wide array of courses and professional training schemes. Physiotherapy students, especially MSc students, take part in such courses. The following research stems from the desire to specify the range and characteristics of professional development during MSc studies as well as to establish the factors encouraging this phenomenon. Material and methods: The research was conducted using a specially designed anonymous questionnaire. The test sample consisted of 152 second-year MSc students studying physiotherapy at a public physical education academy. Results: 3/4 of the research respondents participate in various forms of professional development available on the market, while 1/4 remain passive. Half of the students tested participated in two or more courses during their studies. Massage, physiotherapeutic methods, kinesio taping and manual therapy are the most popular course choices. Most often (62% of cases) the costs of such courses amount up to 5,000 PLN, one fifth of the students allocates up to 10,000 PLN for this purpose. The courses are mainly financed by the students' families or by the students themselves. Some social characteristics and studying conditions are factors conductive to undertaking such activity. Conclusions: Raising qualifications during studies is a widespread phenomenon. The aim of participation in courses is mainly to supplement knowledge with additional information, not available during studies. The main motives underlying such activity are cognitive reasons and improvement of one's situation in the work market.

Information literacy: perceptions of Brazilian HIV/AIDS researchers

Information literacy has evolved with changes in lifelong learning. Can Brazilian health researchers search for and use updated scientific information? To describe researchers' information literacy based on their perceptions of their abilities to search for and use scientific information and on their interactions with libraries. Semi-structured interviews and focus group conducted with six Brazilian HIV/AIDS researchers. Analyses comprised the assessment of researchers as disseminators, their interactions with librarians, their use of information and communication technology and language. Interviewees believed they were partially qualified to use databases. They used words and phrases that indicated their knowledge of technology and terminology. They acted as disseminators for students during information searches. Researchers' abilities to interact with librarians are key skills, especially in a renewed context where libraries have, to a large extent, changed from physical spaces to digital environments. Great amounts of information have been made available, and researchers' participation in courses does not automatically translate into adequate information literacy. Librarians must help research groups, and as such, librarians' information literacy-related responsibilities in Brazil should be redefined and expanded. Students must develop the ability to learn quickly, and librarians should help them in their efforts. Librarians and researchers can act as gatekeepers for research groups and as information coaches to improve others' search abilities.

Concepções da equipe de saúde de um hospital de Curitiba/Paraná sobre a prática de Psicologia

O trabalho do psicólogo é atualmente compreendido como forma de integrar as ciências médicas e sociais, porém sua atuação no hospital é ainda pouco conhecida pelos profissionais da saúde que nele atuam. Com base neste aspecto, o presente estudo visou investigar a percepção da equipe de saúde sobre o trabalho de Psicologia no ambiente hospitalar. Para isso, todos os profissionais de saúde de um Hospital Filantrópico de Curitiba/Paraná foram convidados a responder um questionário contendo questões que verificaram seu conhecimento sobre a atuação do psicólogo em geral e no ambiente hospitalar, sua percepção sobre a importância da atuação do psicólogo em diferentes áreas do hospital, como o trabalho com pacientes, familiares e/ou equipes de saúde e sua percepção sobre as necessidades de atuação do psicólogo neste ambiente. Através dos dados levantados, pode-se concluir que os participantes consideram importante a atuação do psicólogo no hospital, embora seja observado o conhecimento parcial sobre esta atuação. Algumas atribuições dadas a este profissional parecem inclusive trazem risco de confusão com a função de outros profissionais de saúde (ex.: percepção de que o psicólogo pode receitar medicamentos, 53%). Poucos respondentes tiveram contato com o psicólogo no hospital (64%), e indicaram que as formas de contato foram no atendimento com pacientes (38%), reuniões com a equipe de saúde (31%), e participação em cursos sobre psicologia (30%). Considerando a crescente inserção do psicólogo no hospital, o contato com este profissional mostra-se ainda reduzido. No entanto, a percepção dos respondentes quanto a necessidade do psicólogo realizar atendimento em grupo, com a equipe de saúde (64%) ou com familiares (48%), pode ser considerada um avanço, no sentido de ampliação do conhecimento sobre as diferentes modalidades de atendimento que a psicologia pode realizar no hospital.

Reasons for Adult Participation in Courses Organized in a Public Education Center and their Opinions about the Courses

Reasons for Adult Participation in Courses Organized in a Public Education Center and their Opinions about the Courses

Emotions and confidence within teaching in higher education

Teaching is connected with a variety of emotions, but research on this area is scarce in the field of higher education. The present study explores the role of emotions and confidence within six different teacher profiles. Furthermore, the study aims to analyse emotions that arise during participation in courses on university pedagogy. Altogether 97 university teachers were interviewed. The method of content analysis was used to identify descriptions related to emotions and confidence. The results implied that teachers with consonant learning-focused profiles had the most positively charged emotions regarding teaching. However, those with consonant content-focused profiles had neutral or negative feelings about teaching and about the development of teaching. Confusion characterised those who were in a developmental phase in their teaching. Furthermore, the results showed that the emotional aspect was evident in the pedagogical training of university teachers.

Cursos preparatórios para a residência médica: visão dos estudantes de medicina

To know the opinion of Medical interns, University of Brasilia on the preparatory courses for medical residency. Application of a standardized questionnaire to students if the first year of internship. Sixty-seven of the 74 students (90.5%) of the first two semesters of internship participated. Among them, 57 (85.1%) are enrolled or intend to enroll in preparatory courses. Only 28.4% (19 students) believe that participation in these courses disrupt the activities of the internship. Participation in preparatory courses is considered crucial to the approval in the residency exams for 36 respondents (53.7%). When asked about the most important factor for the approval in the exams, 91.0% claimed to be the period of theoretical study. But when the focus of the study is professional training, 92.5% acknowledged the activities during the internship as the most important. Most students interviewed consider that participation in preparatory courses is important to be approved in the residency programs' admission exams and that this participation does not hinder the activities of the internship.

Being an outpatient with rheumatoid arthritis – a focus group study on patients’ self‐efficacy and experiences from participation in a short course and one of three different outpatient settings

A Danish study compared three different outpatient settings for persons with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). All participants completed a short course before random allocation to one of three groups. A third of the patients continued with planned medical consultations. A third was allocated to a shared care setting with no planned consultations. The final third was allocated for planned nursing consultations every 3 months. Little knowledge exists of patients' experiences at different outpatient settings. (1) To explore the patients' experiences of participation in the course and one of the three different outpatient settings and (2) to explore whether some of these experiences can explain possible changes in self-efficacy beliefs. In total six focus group interviews were carried out with 33 participants from the three settings. The interviews and the analysis were inspired by phenomenological philosophy. On the short course the participants felt understood, gained new insights and some changed behaviours after attendance. Important themes in experiences from the three outpatient settings were: (1) continuity and relationships with health professionals, (2) a need for others to take control, and (3) contact with health professionals. SPECIFIC FINDINGS: The nursing consultations were experienced as less factual and less authoritarian than the medical consultations. The participants in the shared care setting had a lack of confidence in the GP's competence to manage their RA. However, they felt responsible for taking action in case of a flare up. The study provided opportunities to enhance the participants' self-efficacy beliefs. When planning follow-up care, the focus needs to be on continuity, the interpersonal relationship and easy access to health professionals with thorough knowledge of RA. A short course and consultations with nurses and hospital doctors can enhance patients' self-efficacy and thereby strengthen their confidence to assess and manage their own disease.

Étude d’évaluation de la satisfaction des étudiants en médecine de la faculté Denis-Diderot-Paris-VII concernant leur formation en gynécologie obstétrique

Aim Assess the degree of satisfaction of medical students regarding their teaching of gynaecology and obstetrics at the medical faculty of Paris-VII in 2008–2009. The aim is to improve the quality of teaching and learning tools mainly with a view to preparing for the national examination competition. Materials and methods This is an observational study on a cohort of 116 students enrolled in 3rd year of graduate medical education, Faculty Paris-VII Denis-Diderot, who was asked to respond anonymously to a questionnaire of satisfaction comprising 13 questions. Results Participation in course organized by the faculty is 62%. Ninety-three percent of students are enrolled in private lessons to prepare the national examination competition. Eighty-one percent of students believe that teaching private courses is better than the courses offered by the faculty. Sixty-two percent of students consider a medium (Internet or CD-ROM). Quality could replace traditional media's theory of education. Ninety percent of students use as a main working the same book sold in commerce. Among them, 98.2% considered that the external training is useful in the preparation of the national examination competition. Discussion It seems that teaching traditional academic lectures of gynaecology and obstetrics is not the preferred method of teaching students in 5th year of medicine. They prefer the education provided by the private preparedness at national examination competition, in the form of clinical cases, even if the courses offered by the faculty try to adapt in this form. The book remains the primary medium of work, but many students believe that a computer could replace or supplement the traditional media. The internship hospital services in gynaecology and obstetrics compulsory Paris-VII seems helpful in learning the specialty including in the context of the national examination class.

Residents' views about family medicine specialty education in Turkey

BackgroundResidents are one of the key stakeholders of specialty training. The Turkish Board of Family Medicine wanted to pursue a realistic and structured approach in the design of the specialty training programme. This approach required the development of a needs-based core curriculum built on evidence obtained from residents about their needs for specialty training and their needs in the current infrastructure. The aim of this study was to obtain evidence on residents' opinions and views about Family Medicine specialty training.MethodsThis is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. The board prepared a questionnaire to investigate residents' views about some aspects of the education programme such as duration and content, to assess the residents' learning needs as well as their need for a training infrastructure. The questionnaire was distributed to the Family Medicine Departments (n = 27) and to the coordinators of Family Medicine residency programmes in state hospitals (n = 11) by e-mail and by personal contact.ResultsA total of 191 questionnaires were returned. The female/male ratio was 58.6%/41.4%. Nine state hospitals and 10 university departments participated in the study. The response rate was 29%. Forty-five percent of the participants proposed over three years for the residency duration with either extensions of the standard rotation periods in pediatrics and internal medicine or reductions in general surgery. Residents expressed the need for extra rotations (dermatology 61.8%; otolaryngology 58.6%; radiology 52.4%). Fifty-nine percent of the residents deemed a rotation in a private primary care centre necessary, 62.8% in a state primary care centre with a proposed median duration of three months. Forty-seven percent of the participants advocated subspecialties for Family Medicine, especially geriatrics. The residents were open to new educational methods such as debates, training with models, workshops and e-learning. Participation in courses and congresses was considered necessary. The presence of a department office and the clinical competency of the educators were more favored by state residents.ConclusionsThis study gave the Board the chance to determine the needs of the residents that had not been taken into consideration sufficiently before. The length and the content of the programme will be revised according to the needs of the residents.

The Development of Ecological Literacy among Novice Outdoor Leaders

Professional outdoor leaders play a central role in educating the public to use outdoor recreation areas in an environmentally responsible manner. Yet little research exists regarding the preparation of outdoor leaders to fulfill this role. To help fill this void in the literature, this study examined the development of several elements of ecological literacy among novice outdoor leaders, specifically, knowledge of environmental impacts resulting from outdoor recreation activities, a sense of self-efficacy in mitigating these impacts through education, and intended continued involvement in the field of outdoor leadership. The sample consisted of participants in courses offered by the Wilderness Education Association (WEA) May through October 2007. Results showed statistically significant increases in knowledge of Leave No Trace (LNT) principles and self-efficacy in teaching environmental ethics. However, results showed a decrease in intention to pursue further development in outdoor leadership.

Exploring chemistry teacher candidates’ profile characteristics, teaching attitudes and beliefs, and chemistry conceptions

The curricula of teacher education need periodic revisions to respond to the evolution of educational objectives. Teachers’ beliefs, as well as their characteristics, teaching attitudes and competency in their subject matter play a decisive role in the success of any reform. In this study, a cross-sectional survey was conducted across years 1-5 of a teacher training program at a university in a metropolitan area in Turkey, seeking to outline prospective chemistry teachers’ profile and understand their teaching beliefs and attitudes toward teaching as a profession. As a second facet, an investigation of prospective teachers’ understanding of fundamental chemistry concepts was conducted, including the concepts of element, compound, the particulate nature of matter and chemical bonding. One hundred and forty chemistry teacher candidates (more women than men) responded to the beliefs and attitudes surveys. Chemistry concept probes were answered by group combinations of first, fourth and fifth year students. The results highlight positive attitudes and intentions of the participants about having teaching as a profession. Final year students appear to hold less traditional teaching beliefs than their year 3 and 4 peers, most likely because of their participation in courses on chemistry methods. Insufficient levels of understanding of fundamental chemistry concepts and common alternative conceptions were uncovered. Suggestions are made in regards to restructuring teacher preparation curricula and courses to allow for confrontation of beliefs and to be more conceptually challenging as well as practice based.

TECHNOLOGY ENABLING INNOVATION IN ONLINE GRADUATE MANAGEMENT EDUCATION

It has been approximately twenty-five years since the Internet became available for public use and slightly over ten years since the World Wide Web became readily accessible. In this paper, we examine innovations in graduate management educational delivery methods that have increased the quality of distance education by investigating the literature surrounding distance education with a focus on four major concepts and their association with modern education technologies. Our exploration involves a comparison of an innovative, parsimonious, online educational model with other methods of graduate management education especially for adult management students. Through this model, we focus on four major concepts that can have a significant impact on management education quality. The first two concepts include dialogue and structure that have been used to describe and assess the quality of distance education programs. The second two concepts comprise students' ability to access courses and the flexibility that students have relative to their participation in courses. We note that these four factors can impact the delivery, content, innovativeness, and quality of graduate management education programs. We review existing models of distance education and note how each model relates to each of these four factors. We then suggest how the design and delivery of online education programs can be improved with a greater understanding of these four concepts in addition to their relationship with recently developed web-based technologies. Finally, we discuss several issues surrounding the administration of web-based education programs and identify several questions that call for further investigation.

What makes a successful volunteer Expert Patients Programme tutor? Factors predicting satisfaction, productivity and intention to continue tutoring of a new public health workforce in the United Kingdom

Objectives Better management of chronic conditions is a challenge for public health policy. The Expert Patients Programme was introduced into the United Kingdom to improve self-care in people with long-term conditions. To deliver self-care courses, the programme relies on the recruitment and continued commitment to delivering the courses of volunteer lay tutors who have long-term conditions. Ensuring the tutor workforce is productive, satisfied in their role and retained long-term is central to the viability of the programme. This exploratory study aimed to determine what factors predict productivity, intention to continue tutoring, and satisfaction in a sample of volunteer tutors from the Expert Patients Programme. Methods A cross-sectional survey of 895 tutors was carried out and 518 (58%) responded. The questionnaire was designed to describe the characteristics, productivity, intention to continue tutoring, and satisfaction of tutors. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the determinants of productivity, intention to continue tutoring, and satisfaction, such as patient demographics, attitudes, physical and mental health, mastery and self-esteem. Results Attitudes relating to personal goals, and better health were significant predictors of satisfaction with the tutor role. Only a small proportion of the variance in productivity was accounted for, and tutors were more likely to be productive when they were single, homeowners, car owners, and had lower scores on the depression scale. Overall satisfaction and personal goals were predictors of intention to continue tutoring. Conclusion Demographic factors, health measures and attitudes each predicted different aspects of the experience of work conducted by the volunteer tutors. The results should prove useful for planning interventions to enhance the success of this new workforce initiative. Practice implications Attempts to increase participation in courses by people from deprived backgrounds are likely to be enhanced if tutors come from similar backgrounds. This study demonstrated that material advantage and attitudes that value personal goals were predictors of satisfaction and productivity in the tutor role. Specific incentives and strategies may be required to recruit and support tutors from more marginalised groups in order to ensure equitable access to effective self-care support for all.

Die Kluft zwischen Forschung und Praxis – eine Befragung von Teilnehmern an Fort- und Weiterbildungsveranstaltungen

Ziel: Zu untersuchen, in welchem Ausmaβ Ärzte, die an Fort- und Weiterbildungsveranstaltungen teilnehmen, klinische Forschungsarbeiten lesen und für wie relevant sie diese für ihre praktische Arbeit halten. Methoden: Ärzte, die an Weiterbildungskursen zu Homöopathie (n = 96), Akupunktur (n = 79), Naturheilverfahren (n = 75), Allgemeinmedizin (n = 50) oder am Bayerischen Internistenkongress 2006 (n = 136) teilnahmen, wurden dazu befragt, in welchem Ausmaβ sie sich über den aktuellen Stand der Forschung informieren, wie relevant klinische Studien für ihre ärztliche Arbeit sind und welche Faktoren eine intensivere Beschäftigung mit klinischer Forschung erschweren. Ergebnisse: Mehr als die Hälfte der Befragten (51%) gab an, keinerlei Zeit für die Lektüre von Originalarbeiten zu verwenden. Die Ergebnisse unterschieden sich zwischen den einzelnen Arztgruppen nur unwesentlich. Der Anteil der Ärzte, der die Bedeutung klinischer Studien für die ärztliche Praxis als hoch oder sehr hoch einschätzte, betrug bei den Teilnehmern von Veranstaltungen zur Homöopathie 52%, zur Akupunktur 68%, zu Naturheilverfahren 67%, zur Allgemeinmedizin 63% und beim Internistenkongress 81%. In allen Arztgruppen wurde die Relevanz von klinischen Studien und Metaanalysen für die praktische Arbeit als geringer eingeschätzt als die der eigenen Erfahrung, des Rates von Kollegen, von Fortbildungsveranstaltungen, pathophysiologischen Zusammenhängen, Lehrbüchern und Leitlinien. Ein wichtiger Grund, sich nicht mit klinischen Studien auseinanderzusetzen, war für 88% der befragten Ärzte der zu hohe Zeitaufwand. Schlussfolgerungen: Klinische Studien und Metaanalysen spielen aus Sicht der befragten Ärzte nur eine nachgeordnete Rolle für ihre praktische Arbeit.

Overcoming preconceptions and perceived barriers to medical communication using a ‘dual role‐play’ training course

Communication is a core component of clinical competence. We introduced a dual role-play (DRP) course, in which participants role-played both the doctor-candidate and the standardized patient. The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of a DRP communication course for physicians and to identify factors that inhibit effective medical communication. We conducted four medical communication skills courses from 2004 to 2006. A questionnaire was administered before and after completion of each course. We assessed respondents' confidence levels before and after the course and sought to identify perceived barriers to effective communication among medical trainees in Singapore. Finally, we asked if they found participation in the course and its DRP nature to be useful. Twenty-six participants, 20 men, 6 women, of mean age 30.2 years (standard deviation (SD) 2.01) completed the survey. The pre-course confidence levels (rated on a scale of 1-10) of 6.23 (SD 1.18) rose significantly to 7.58 (SD 0.95) on completion of the course (P = 0.001, Wilcoxon signed rank test). All respondents felt that they had benefited from participation in the medical communication skills course. 24 (92.3%) respondents deemed it useful to have role-played both the doctor and standardized patient in the exercise. We identified respondents with language difficulties to have benefited the most from the course (P = 0.031, odds ratio 2.906 (95%CI 0.292-5.519), linear regression analysis). DRP is an effective way to train doctors in medical communication.

Patrones de cambio de las redes personales de inmigrantes en Cataluña

By analyzing two waves of personal networks of immigrants to Catalonia (Spain) with a period of 1.5-2 years in between, a general model of change resulting from migration is proposed and people explanations that account for the observed changes are coded. The analyzed communities are Argentineans (n=25), Dominicans (n=16), Moroccans (n=13), and persons from Senegal and Gambia (n=13). It turns out that getting a job and the participation in courses and team sport pushes for change that follows the proposed general model (evolution). In contrast, marrying a partner of the same origin, getting children, participating in an ethnic association, traveling to the country of origin, and being visited by kin and friends frequently leads to change in the opposite direction (involution). The use of metavisualizations of personal networks facilitates the comparison of networks of the same individual at different time points, as well as the comparison of networks aggregated over different communities. This aggregation shows that each of the four communities exhibits different ways of adaptation and change.

Undergraduate Research Experiences Support Science Career Decisions and Active Learning

The present study examined the reliability of student evaluations of summer undergraduate research experiences using the SURE (Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences) and a follow-up survey disseminated 9 mo later. The survey further examines the hypothesis that undergraduate research enhances the educational experience of science undergraduates, attracts and retains talented students to careers in science, and acts as a pathway for minority students into science careers. Undergraduates participated in an online survey on the benefits of undergraduate research experiences. Participants indicated gains on 20 potential benefits and reported on career plans. Most of the participants began or continued to plan for postgraduate education in the sciences. A small group of students who discontinued their plans for postgraduate science education reported significantly lower gains than continuing students. Women and men reported similar levels of benefits and similar patterns of career plans. Undergraduate researchers from underrepresented groups reported higher learning gains than comparison students. The results replicated previously reported data from this survey. The follow-up survey indicated that students reported gains in independence, intrinsic motivation to learn, and active participation in courses taken after the summer undergraduate research experience.

Popular education for health as a possibility of increasing social control in the health area

This paper reports and analyzes an experience of communitarian health education carried out by the Health Movement ofthe Eastern Region of Sao Paulo City (MSZL) to train health counselors from 1980 to 1990. The research techniques used were documentanalysis and in-depth individual interviews with key respondents, technical team members and former participants of courses. The coursecontents, methodology and educational techniques were consistent with communitarian education principles and met the expectationsof the participants. Communitarian health education showed to meet the objectives established for MSZL political training courses andto increase social control in the health sector.