Regional Campus Research Articles

Statewide Regional Campus Development: Academic Medicine's Response to US Physician Shortages.

Statewide Regional Campus Development: Academic Medicine's Response to US Physician Shortages.

First year allopathic medical student attitudes about vaccination and vaccine hesitancy

First year medical students at an allopathic medical school regional campus were asked to complete a 10-question survey at both the beginning and the conclusion of a required course on immunology, hematology and oncology. The survey was designed to solicit student attitudes about vaccination and the students’ level of comfort with and exposure to vaccine hesitant patients. Surveys were administered to five consecutive classes from 2013 to 2017. Total response rate for completion of both surveys was 58.0% (178/307). Pre- and post-course surveys were administered to assess whether curricular experiences altered the students’ perceptions about vaccinations and their ability to counsel vaccine hesitant patients. Curricular elements were presented in several different formats aimed at increasing student knowledge about vaccinations and student capacity to work with vaccine hesitant patients and families (problem-based learning, didactic lecture and interactive panel discussion). In the pre-survey, the majority of students reported having already encountered people who decline vaccinations (78.8%). Additionally, in the pre-survey the majority of medical students expressed strong support for vaccination (99.6% agreed with the statement that Vaccinations are a great public health accomplishment) and strong disagreement with both of the assertions that childhood vaccines cause autism and vaccine preservatives cause adverse health effects. In response to questions about comfort level while talking with patients about vaccine choices, baseline responses demonstrated a moderately high level of comfort. Post-course surveys revealed a statistically significant increase in student-rated comfort level in talking with patients about vaccine choices (pre-survey 79.2% report comfort versus post 97.8%; p < 0.001). Though this study is limited to student self-reporting, survey responses suggest that targeted curricular elements can improve medical student confidence in counseling patients about vaccinations. Future curricular elements designed to directly observe student performance could provide verification of counseling skill acquisition.

Branding higher education: an exploration of the role of internal branding on middle management in a university rebrand

Although research on branding in higher education has grown, a specific focus on internal branding in this sector is still scarce. Brand support by mid-level administrative staff and deans is a key element in internal branding of a university. This study explores the extent to which internal branding contributes to this group’s understanding of and engagement with a public institution’s rebranding campaign. It identifies challenges and practice insights for practice for internal branding activities when engaging these internal stakeholders, linking to wider brand management theory and practice. A qualitative case study approach was employed to understand the effectiveness of internal branding holistically, and in context. In 2016, nineteen depth interviews were conducted with a range of mid-level administrators and deans including those at the student union, regional campuses, directors of departments, and deans of faculties and schools at a large Canadian university. The data was analysed using Nvivo qualitative data analysis software. On the basis of the results, it is apparent that internal branding has a valuable role in relation to higher education brand management strategy. Results offer a holistic view of the rebranding process, and explore understanding of and engagement with the rebranding campaign. This paper addresses a gap in the public sector brand management literature and demonstrates theoretical and practical implications for improved understanding and brand management strategy.

Challenges and Opportunities on Health Sciences Regional Campuses: A Multidiscipline, Multicampus Survey.

We explored faculty and staff perceptions of the challenges and opportunities of working on regional campuses of a large academic health science center. The growth of multicampus academic institutions presents numerous issues for intercampus planning and for organizational/professional relationships. We were interested in learning how regional campus faculty and staff experienced these issues, with the practical goal of making recommendations to both central and regional campus administrations. A cross-sectional, online survey was distributed to faculty and staff who worked at regional campuses of a large health sciences university. Regional faculty and staff felt more valued by local colleagues and administrators than by their central campus counterparts. Top challenges were central administration's lack of communication and understanding of regionals' unique circumstances and needs. Regional campuses' workplace experience is significantly different from that of central campus. More timely communication and active solicitation of regional campus input are needed.

A fine balance: understanding the influence of job, school and personal characteristics in predicting academic and job satisfaction amongst non-traditional students

ABSTRACT While there has been a proliferation of interest and research into work-family studies we know little about how employees who study while working manage their multiple and sometimes conflicting roles. This research focuses on non-traditional students (NTS), whose representation in the general student population has increased, and explores how they attempt to balance their work and school responsibilities. The question of what factors potentially impact NTS’s academic and job satisfaction remains mostly unanswered and is the question this article attempts to address. Data were collected from over 200 non-traditional students studying across different regional campuses of a US university, testing several hypotheses including relevant demographic and non-demographic variables. Results revealed academic satisfaction was impacted by job-related factors while job satisfaction tended to be influenced mostly by factors in the general work domain. Demographic factors did not appear to predict job satisfaction and nor did they significantly predict academic satisfaction. The paper outlines some future opportunities for research to better understand the work-school dynamic in the lives of non-traditional students.

Regional Campus Approach to Interprofessional Education for Healthcare Students

The purpose of this report is to describe and discuss the development and implementation of an interprofessional educational (IPE) program for students on a regional medical campus. IPE is important in training the next generation of health care professionals. Regional medical campuses often have reduced IPE activities due to limited resources and their distance from their main campuses. However, regional campuses can also provide opportunities for innovative solutions to provide IPE learning experiences. This article demonstrated how one regional campus created innovative opportunities to meet student needs.

Evidence-based Faculty Development Programming for Regional Medical Campuses and the BASK Framework

Medical schools’ regional campuses respond to vital needs in medical education. About one third of US medical schools have regional campuses. It is important to create and maintain, in all geographically separate locations, climate and culture conducive to effective teaching and learning. An evidence-based approach to designing and implementing faculty development programs for regional medical campuses is described, and the BASK assessment framework is introduced, recognizing the interconnectedness between desired changes in behaviors, and learners’ attitudes, skills and knowledge. IRB approval was obtained for the completion of this study.

New Ways of Teaching at the new campus

This perspective article shares the experience of my teaching role as a clinical faculty in the newly designed regional campus curriculum of the inaugural class at the University Park.&#x0D; I have no Conflict of Interest to share.

Narrowing expansive horizons: Experiences of first-year medical students and teaching faculty in a new multidirectional digital classroom for three- and four-year medical school programs

Introduction: &#x0D; To address the country’s shortage of primary care physicians and increasing medical student debt, the Medical College of Wisconsin matriculated students into accelerated 3-year campuses in Central City and Packer City, while maintaining its traditional 4-year campus in Brew City, Wisconsin. To ensure consistent content delivery within the basic science curriculum, students at all three campuses simultaneously participate in daily learning activities, utilizing distributed learning through a multidirectional digital classroom incorporating video-conferencing and audience response systems. &#x0D; Methods: &#x0D; To best uncover and understand the perspectives and attitudes of faculty and medical students, qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed framed within constructivist grounded theory. This framework is rooted in social processes of the participants lived experiences and views these experiences as paramount to the analysis and presentation. Prospectively, data was acquired regarding individual experiences from first-year medical students and medical school teaching faculty across the three campuses. Beginning in the 2015–2016 academic year, nine semi-structured focus groups were conducted with concluding surveys. These focus groups were separated by campus location: medical students at Brew City, medical students at Packer City, and faculty who taught at either the three-year regional campus or four-year campus. In winter 2017, the study expanded including one additional student-centered focus group in Central City. Each focus group was recorded using a hand-held device, transcribed, and analyzed using the constant comparative method. This inductive approach required close examination of the transcriptions and line-by-line analysis to assign codes that captured the emerging themes. To triangulate the data and further understand the medical student and faculty lived experiences, a concluding survey was distributed to participants. This survey included eight, seven-point Likert-scale questions to further ascertain experience and overall satisfaction with the new learning environment. Numerical data was analyzed with IBM® SPSS® 24. This study was approved by the institutions review board.&#x0D; Results:&#x0D; In 2015–16, Packer City students rated their overall learning experience significantly (d=0.74, p&lt;.050) higher (mean (sd)=7.6 (0.6)) than students in Brew City (6.7; 1.6) and significantly higher (d=1.21, p&lt;.034) than the faculty (6.0 (1.0)). During 2016–17, overall learning experience scores did not differ from those of the previous years for Packer City (D=0.0) or Brew City students (D=0.0). A comparison of scores across all three campuses in 2016–17 yielded a significant change (d=1.28, p&lt;.037) between the Central City campus (mean (sd)=7.8 (1.1)) and the Brew City campus (6.7 (0.5). No significant changes were reported between Packer City and the other two campuses. Three overarching themes emerged from both the students and faculty throughout the study: (1) The construction of a knowledge-based community of practice, (2) responsiveness to diverse learning preference, and (3) how participants negotiated teaching and learning within the multidirectional digital classroom.&#x0D; Conclusion:&#x0D; These findings have the capacity to provide guidance when re-designing and facilitating medical school curricula and for learners who engage in new multidirectional digital environments. Regardless of teaching site, all educators must be mindful of students’ learning needs and recognize how the overall learning experience is influenced by faculty, physical environment, and the ways in which students interact with one another daily.

Teaching Medical Students in the Rural Setting Long Term: Physicians' Attitudes and Perceptions.

The University of Alabama School of Medicine Tuscaloosa Regional Campus conducted a 2-month block in rural family practice, but committed to expanding to an 8-month longitudinal rural curriculum. We wanted to explore how rural physicians feel about teaching students in a prolonged rural preceptorship. We brainstormed with colleagues, reviewed the literature, and conducted two focus groups supplemented by five interviews with rural physicians. The focus groups explored satisfaction and dissatisfaction in teaching, medical school and community support, evaluation of preceptors, and the sharing of information between students and preceptors. The analysis sought common themes among study participants and colleagues. Twenty-one study participants included 19 family physicians, 15 in private practice. Eleven had taught medical students. Our key finding, combining four themes, was that a satisfactory context within which to teach medical students long term in rural sites depends on the optimization of the roles of preceptors, students, communities, and educational institutions. There were comments addressing each of these roles. This finding cannot be generalized beyond the study group because of the qualitative methodology using a convenience sample. These physicians' concerns foment hypotheses about engaging rural physicians in their own unique local networks involving preceptors, students, community, and educational institutions to conduct satisfactory long-term medical education in rural sites. We recommend investigations to substantiate a prevalence among rural physicians of concern about the four roles and to describe various contexts in which these roles produce satisfactory long-term preceptorships, perhaps as best practices in different settings.

Medical Student Selection

This is included in the attached word document&#x0D; &#x0D; Many medical schools rely solely on their Admissions Committee members or core faculty for all aspects of the admissions process. In a distributed campus model, involving stakeholders from different contexts and campuses, can help medical schools diversify the participants in each step of the admissions process, from recruitment, to screening, to interviewing, to selection. Using the regional campus structure poses an advantage to embed multiple constituents, including faculty, staff, and community members, into the entire process supporting collective input in training future physicians for those communities and provides the opportunity for more people to become aware of institutional missions and to become invested in the holistic review framework used for candidate selection.&#x0D; The authors declare no conflicts of interest. This work does require human subjects review.

Exploring the value of a university-driven mental health self-management programme

ABSTRACTThis article presents findings from analysing a novel approach to helping regional students transition and adapt to university education by teaching them self-management skills. A programme was implemented for first-year students enrolled in various disciplines at regional university campuses in South Australia from 2013 to 2015. Programme outcomes were evaluated using pre- and post-training questionnaires administered to participants to assess changed mental health perceptions or practices. A paired-sample t-test showed statistically significant improvement following the programme. Students learnt coping strategies and skills to care for their own mental health and planned to apply what they learned for their benefit and in their professional practice.

Main and Regional Campus Assessments of Applicants to a Rural Physician Leadership Program

While the selection of qualified applicants often relies, in part, on scores generated from a medical school pre-admission interview (MSPI), the growth of regional medical campuses (RMCs) – many with specialized rural tracks, programs, or missions – has challenged schools to accommodate a wider range of stakeholder input. This study examines the reliabilities of main (urban) and regional (rural) campus interviewers’ assessments of applicants to a Rural Physician Leadership Program (RPLP) located in the southeastern United States.&#x0D; Data from RPLP applicants completing MSPIs on two campuses from 2009-2017 (n = 232) were examined in a generalizability analysis. In two separate interviews on each campus (4 total), raters independently evaluated applicants’ overall acceptability and likelihood of practicing in a rural area of the state. Results provided campus-specific and combined (composite) estimates of obtained and projected reliabilities. &#x0D; The person-by-campus interaction accounted for 11% and 5% of the respective variance in interviewers’ ratings of overall applicant acceptability and likelihood of rural in-state practice, and the reliability of mean scores across the four independent interviews (each with a single, unique rater) was 0.73 and 0.82. Error variances were higher among main campus interviewers, but scores correlated highly between the two campuses.&#x0D; While broadening the universe of generalization often results in decreased reliability, reliability was shown to be enhanced with the addition of regional (rural) campus interviews. As the RPLP matures, an examination of graduates’ actual practice locations should yield insights into the predictive validity of these pre-admissions assessments. More generally, research may wish to explore the conditions under which increasing the diversity of stakeholder input can be accommodated without concomitant reductions in overall reliability.

Main and Regional Campus Assessments of Applicants to a Rural Physician Leadership Program

While the selection of qualified applicants often relies, in part, on scores generated from a medical school pre-admission interview (MSPI), the growth of regional medical campuses (RMCs) – many with specialized rural tracks, programs, or missions – has challenged schools to accommodate a wider range of stakeholder input. This study examines the reliabilities of main (urban) and regional (rural) campus interviewers’ assessments of applicants to a Rural Physician Leadership Program (RPLP) located in the southeastern United States.&#x0D; Data from RPLP applicants completing MSPIs on two campuses from 2009-2017 (n = 232) were examined in a generalizability analysis. In two separate interviews on each campus (4 total), raters independently evaluated applicants’ overall acceptability and likelihood of practicing in a rural area of the state. Results provided campus-specific and combined (composite) estimates of obtained and projected reliabilities. &#x0D; The person-by-campus interaction accounted for 11% and 5% of the respective variance in interviewers’ ratings of overall applicant acceptability and likelihood of rural in-state practice, and the reliability of mean scores across the four independent interviews (each with a single, unique rater) was 0.73 and 0.82. Error variances were higher among main campus interviewers, but scores correlated highly between the two campuses.&#x0D; While broadening the universe of generalization often results in decreased reliability, reliability was shown to be enhanced with the addition of regional (rural) campus interviews. As the RPLP matures, an examination of graduates’ actual practice locations should yield insights into the predictive validity of these pre-admissions assessments. More generally, research may wish to explore the conditions under which increasing the diversity of stakeholder input can be accommodated without concomitant reductions in overall reliability.

Tailoring the Professional Development of Volunteer Clinical Faculty at Regional Medical Campuses:

Volunteer Clinical Faculty (VCF) are essential for the education of medical students at most medical schools with regional campuses. Indiana University School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the United States, with over 1,400 medical students experiencing part or all of their medical education at nine campuses (one academic center and eight regional medical campuses). Given the large number of students learning in the community, we surveyed our VCF in 2016 to better understand their characteristics, reasons for teaching, and professional development needs. Survey participants reported personal enjoyment from teaching as their primary reason for continuing to teach, but time pressure as a limiting factor. They identified faculty development opportunities in areas of efficient teaching, giving feedback, and adapting teaching style for various learners. Interventions were designed to create a unique, state-wide model of both face-to-face and online professional development to ensure the success of our VCF.

Tailoring the Professional Development of Volunteer Clinical Faculty at Regional Medical Campuses:

Volunteer Clinical Faculty (VCF) are essential for the education of medical students at most medical schools with regional campuses. Indiana University School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the United States, with over 1,400 medical students experiencing part or all of their medical education at nine campuses (one academic center and eight regional medical campuses). Given the large number of students learning in the community, we surveyed our VCF in 2016 to better understand their characteristics, reasons for teaching, and professional development needs. Survey participants reported personal enjoyment from teaching as their primary reason for continuing to teach, but time pressure as a limiting factor. They identified faculty development opportunities in areas of efficient teaching, giving feedback, and adapting teaching style for various learners. Interventions were designed to create a unique, state-wide model of both face-to-face and online professional development to ensure the success of our VCF.

The countercultural new left “Down Under”: student activism at the university of New England, Australia

ABSTRACTKey to the influential idea of a “global Sixties” has been a rich scholarship addressing the global orientation and sensibility of student and youth movements in disparate locations and the connections between them. Research exploring the diffusion across national borders of radical ideas and strategies, however, has tended to focus on large, urban centers at the expense of rural and regional spaces. This article draws on a case study of student activism at the small, largely-residential University of New England in rural Armidale, New South Wales: a location apparently marginal to Australia’s – and the world’s – long Sixties. It argues that close attention to the particularism of activism on this tiny regional campus provides a potent illustration of the ways in which global ideas took root, not only in metropolitan centers but also in regions often assumed to be defined by relative isolation. Focusing on a recurring theme in the story of Sixties’ dissent – the relationship between the New Left and the counterculture – the article demonstrates how decentering the national story of Australian student activism also powerfully reinforces the global character of the Sixties.

College students' attitudes toward interracial relationships: Variations by student race and campus type

Objectives: In this study, variability in college students’ attitudes toward interracial dating and marriage relationships as a function of student race and campus type (predominantly White vs. ethno-racially diverse) was examined. Methods: Undergraduate students ages 18-24 were recruited from a large public multicampus university in the Northeast. Using an online survey, students (N = 231) provided demographic information (e.g., gender, age, family income) and reported on their interracial relationship history and attitudes toward dating and marriage relationships. Results: Analyses of variance revealed significant differences in students’ attitudes toward interracial dating and marriage depending on students’ race and the type of campus they attended. White students enrolled at ethno-racially diverse urban campuses reported significantly lower approval of interracial dating and marriage relationships than their White peers at the predominantly White main campus and their peers of color at the predominantly White campus and the ethno-racially diverse regional campuses. Conclusions: The findings highlight the role that the particular geographical-cultural profile of campuses plays in college students’ attitudes toward interracial relationships when considered in tandem with students’ racial background.

By the Fox or the Little Eagle: What Remains Not Regional?

By the Fox or the Little Eagle: What Remains Not Regional?

Cracking the Nut on LCME Standard 8.7: Innovations to Ensure Comparability Across Geographically Distributed Campuses

Problem: A large state university in the southeastern United States and state Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) collaborated to establish branch campuses to increase clinical capacity for medical student education. Prior to formally becoming branch campuses, two AHEC sites had established innovative curricular structures different than the central campus. These sites worked with the central campus as clinical training sites. Upon becoming formal campuses, their unique clinical experiences were maintained. A third campus established a curricular structure identical to the central campus. Little exists in the literature regarding strategies that ensure comparability yet allow campuses to remain unique and innovative. Intervention: We implemented a balanced matrix organizational structure, well-defined communication plan, and newly developed tool to track comparability. A balanced matrix organization model framed the campus relationships. Adopting this model led to identifying reporting structures, developing multidirectional communication strategies, and the Campus Comparability Tool. Context: The UNC School of Medicine central campus is in Chapel Hill. All 192 students complete basic science course work on central campus. For required clinical rotations, approximately 140 students are assigned to the central campus, which includes rotations in Raleigh or Greensboro. The remaining students are assigned to Asheville (25–30), Charlotte (25–30), or Wilmington (5–7). Chapel Hill and Wilmington follow identical rotation structures, 16 weeks each of (a) combined surgery and adult inpatient experiences; (b) combined obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, and inpatient pediatrics; and (c) longitudinal clinical experiences in adult and pediatric medicine. Asheville offers an 8-month longitudinal integrated outpatient experience with discreet inpatient experiences in surgery and adult care. Charlotte offers a 6-month longitudinal integrated experiences and 6 months of block inpatient experiences. Aside from Charlotte and Raleigh, the other sites are urban but surrounded by rural counties. Chapel Hill is 221 miles from Asheville, 141 from Charlotte, and 156 from Wilmington. Outcome: Using the balanced matrix organization, various reporting structures and lines of communication ensured the educational objectives for students were clear on all campuses. The communication strategies facilitated developing consistent evaluation metrics across sites to compare educational experiences. Lessons Learned: The complexities of different healthcare systems becoming regional campuses require deliberate planning and understanding the culture of those sites. Recognizing how size and location of the organization affects communication, the central campus took the lead centralizing functions when appropriate. Adopting uniform educational technology has played an essential role in evaluating the comparability of core educational content on campuses delivering content in very distinct ways.