Small Group Tutorials Research Articles

Identifying group metacognition associated with medical students’ teamwork satisfaction in an online small group tutorial context

BackgroundCollaborative learning is an essential pedagogy in medical education, within which small group learning constitutes an integral component. Online small group teaching has been widely applied and blended with in-person sessions in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. This study examined whether group metacognition was associated with teamwork satisfaction in an online small group teaching curriculum for medical students.MethodsWe enrolled medical students of the 2nd and 4th years during the 2021 fall semester after they participated in 3 consecutive sessions of online small group tutorials (SGTs), which have been implemented in our medical school for more than 20 years. The students completed a group metacognitive scale (GMS) and a teamwork satisfaction scale (TSS) after the sessions. We analyzed whether group metacognition in 4 dimensions (knowledge of cognition, planning, evaluating, and monitoring) could be connected with medical students’ teamwork satisfaction using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).ResultsA total of 263 medical students participated in this study. Both GMS and TSS exhibited good reliability and validity. Three of the 4 dimensions of group metacognition (cognition, planning, and evaluating) positively correlated with teamwork satisfaction (path coefficients 0.311, 0.279, and 0.21; p = 0.002, 0.002, and 0.043, respectively) following the online SGT curriculum, whereas the monitoring dimension did not (path coefficient 0.087; p = 0.357). The model achieved an adjusted R square of 0.683.ConclusionWe discovered that group metacognition correlated positively with better teamwork satisfaction, supporting the importance of group metacognitive competency for online collaborative learning.

Enhancing Nursing Staff Clinical Skills of Pain Assessment: Impact of the Educational Course

Objective: To assess the impact of a newly developed educational course in terms of improvement in post-test scores in clinical skills assessment of patients with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) and epidural analgesia using the Likert scale among nursing staff working in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Introduction: Nurses require certain clinical skills to assess patient’s pain adequately. This can be achieved through regular on-the-job training and educational workshops. This will enhance nurses’ clinical practice regarding pain assessment and improve pain treatment and patient satisfaction. Methods: After getting approval from the Institutional Review Committee an education course was developed and implemented. A total of 86 nursing staff attended the course. Teaching methodologies included online lectures, small group tutorials, and hands-on workshops using demonstrations of locally developed videos. Pain assessment skills were assessed at the start of the workshop and the end of the session using PCIA and Epidural Likert scale assessment forms on simulated patients in this experimental, pre-and post- (single-arm) study. Results: Eighty-six participants completed the course, of which 50 (58.1%) were female. In the clinical skill assessment of patients using PCIA, the mean difference in PCIA assessment scores of participants before and after the workshop was 13.88 (90.79%), which was statistically significant (p=<0.001). In the epidural skills assessment, the mean difference in the score of participants before and after the workshop was 15.09 (79.47%), which was statistically significant (p=<0.001). Conclusion: The educational course had a significant impact on increasing the understanding of pain assessment among nursing staff with statistically significant improvement in their clinical skills.

All hands on deck during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maintaining face-to-face medical education and clinical placements.

Medical students must have robust educational experiences, graduate and commence timely employment. Here, we describe how the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) delivered clinical placements in medical programmes over the first three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland, including a student-centred, holistic approach to students' educational, social and health needs with strong student involvement, re-organising the university's primary care team, developing COVID-19 PCR testing on site and re-focusing communications and student services. This resulted in re-arranging the students into learning communities, and students and staff electronically recorded their COVID-19 symptom status daily. In-person observed structured clinical examination and other clinical exams progressed. No lockdown of any campus occurred. Over the two senior years, 693 students completed 15,000 weeks of clinical and experiential learning across 104 sites, similar to previous years, including anatomy practicals, procedural skills training, simulated ward rounds and patient encounters, case-based presentations and small group tutorials. The compliance rate with the daily symptom tracker was 91%. The percentage response rate and the number of students providing feedback from October 2020 to April 2021 was as high as 50%. The overall response rate was 33%. By mid-May, 93-95% of students in the two senior years had had at least one dose of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, with 99% fully vaccinated by the start of the next academic year in autumn 2021. Over the period of testing for SARS-CoV-2, just over 22,000 samples were processed, of which 0.79% were positive; no medical student acquired COVID-19 or was associated with nosocomial transmission. The total investment by the RCSI in Dublin, was €9.3m (€1.2 in capital expenditure and €8.1 in operational expenses). Continuing face-to-face clinical placements during a pandemic was possible through a multi-model approach that prioritised two-way communication, compliance with national public health advice and student screening.

311 The Surgical Modern Apprentice – Preparing Final Year UK Medical Students for Foundation Year 1 Using Targeted Small Group Tutorials During an Apprenticeship-Style Placement

311 The Surgical Modern Apprentice – Preparing Final Year UK Medical Students for Foundation Year 1 Using Targeted Small Group Tutorials During an Apprenticeship-Style Placement

Graduates' Views of the Ontario Midwifery Education Program

A survey of all graduates of Ontario's Midwifery Education Program was done in 2003 in order to obtain their views about the adequacy of their preparation for professional practice, the satisfaction with program features and future educational aspirations. The respondents (123 of 181[68%] graduates) were nearly all working as midwives, most were working full time and more than half had been preceptors for students since the time of their own graduation. The most highly rated Program features were biological science courses, final year clinical courses, small group tutorials and skilled preceptors. The aspects of the Program that were most stressful were balancing the high demands of the Program with family responsibilities, relocating for clinical placements and having difficulties with preceptors. Overall, graduates felt well prepared for professional practice. All graduates reported undertaking continuing education and many were interested in master's level courses or programs. The crucial role of preceptors in students' educational experiences was reinforced by the survey results. preceptor development continue to be a high priority.

Inadequacies in Undergraduate Musculoskeletal Education-A Survey of Nationally Accredited Allopathic Medical Programs in Canada.

The aim of the study is to document the current state of musculoskeletal (MSK) medicine education across nationally accredited undergraduate medical programs. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather curricular data on the following three musculoskeletal themes: (1) anatomy education, (2) preclinical education, and (3) clerkship education. The survey had a 100% response rate with all 14 English-language medical schools in Canada responding. The mean time spent teaching musculoskeletal anatomy was 29.8 hrs (SD ± 13.7, range = 12-60), with all but one program using some form of cadaveric-based instruction. Musculoskeletal preclinical curricula averaged 58.0 hrs (SD ± 53.4, range = 6-204), with didactic lectures, case-based learning, and small group tutorials being the most common modes of instruction. Curricular content varied greatly, with only 25% of "core or must-know" musculoskeletal topics being covered in detail by all programs. Musculoskeletal training in clerkship was required by only 50% of programs, most commonly being 2 wks in duration. Results document the large variability and curricular inadequacies that exist in musculoskeletal education across nationally accredited allopathic programs and highlight the need for the identification and implementation of more consistent musculoskeletal curricular content and educational standards by all nationally accredited medical programs.

Communication skills of medical students: Evaluation of a new communication curriculum at the University of Augsburg.

Teaching communication skills plays a pivotal role in medical curricula. The aim of this article is to describe and evaluate a new communication curriculum developed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Augsburg (KomCuA), which was conceptualized by an interdisciplinary team based on recommended quality standards (i.e., helical, integrated, longitudinal). A total of 150 medical students enrolled in the 1st, 3rd, and ≥5th semester participated in the study. They completed an online survey (numerical rating scales and validated questionnaires) evaluating their current communication skills, how these developed across the curriculum in terms of quality and self-confidence, and how helpful they considered practicing in small group tutorials with simulated patients. The students' attitudes towards communication and empathy in the context of medical care were additionally assessed. The students' responses were compared across semesters using one-way univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA). Overall, students reported improved communications skills due to attending the KomCuA and further considered practicing with simulated patients as being very helpful (large effect sizes). Compared to 1st semester students, 3rd and ≥5th semester students reported better communication skills (medium to large effect sizes). Additionally, ≥5th semester students showed stronger agreement towards the relevance of empathy in the context of medical care (medium effect size) compared to both 1st and 3rd semester students. The KomCuA has shown to be an effective communication curriculum to support medical students in the development of their communication skills and positive attitudes towards empathy. Additional studies assessing students' communication skills and empathic attitudes longitudinally are warranted to confirm the present results and to gain further knowledge on how these essential skills and attitudes develop across medical curricula.

Inclusive education: pedagogical approach to online versus face-to-face teaching

In today’s educational landscape, active learning is often overlooked during lectures, seminars, and tutorials. The aim of this study was to investigate perceptions of online and face-to-face lecture formats and their impact on the learning experiences of undergraduate dental students in Years 3–5. This qualitative study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of different lecture formats at the Institute of Dentistry for undergraduate dental students in Years 3–5. There were two specific questions asked to dental undergraduate students with additional free-text questions. In total, 120 of 221 undergraduate students participated in this study between October 2019 and February 2020, and only 42 participants included the free-text comments. Three core themes related to the blended learning approach were identified: (1) scheduled versus recorded lectures, (2) duration of academic lectures, and (3) neurodiversity and learning experiences. The results showed that the learners perceived the traditional didactic lectures as the least effective format. There is not a “one fits all” lecture format that would accommodate a neurodiversity-based approach that focuses on the strengths, abilities, and interests of students. Hybrid lecture formats in combination with online teaching coupled with small group tutorials could be suggested. There is a unique challenge in the post-COVID-19 era for both educators and learners due to the lack of clinical practice and heavy reliance on online methods of teaching in Dentistry. Therefore, the implication of these results on the planning and financing of programmes could be discussed in Higher Education.

'A human face and voice': transgender patient-educator and medical student perspectives on gender-diversity teaching

BackgroundTransgender and gender diverse (TGD) people face many obstacles in accessing health care, including discrimination, institutional bias, and clinician knowledge deficits. We developed a clinical skills and education module on gender-affirming care for pre-clinical medical students, in collaboration with a TGD-led civil society organisation. The module consisted of an educational session followed by preceptor-facilitated small group tutorials, led by TGD patient-educators (n = 22) who used their lived experience to explore medical history-taking and broader issues related to TGD healthcare with students (n = 199). This study aimed to explore the views of students and TGD patient-educators on the structure, delivery and impact of the module.MethodsAnalysis of responses of TGD patient-educators and students to the module (2020 and 2021), in post-intervention surveys using open-ended questions for TGD patient-educators (18 responses from 22 educators) and free text comments as part of a quantitative survey for medical students (89 responses).ResultsResponses from students and patient-educators to the session were highly positive. Students and patient-educators emphasised that the teaching session succeeded through elevating the centrality of shared experience and creating a safe space for learning and teaching. Safety was experienced by patient-educators through the recognition of their own expertise in a medical environment, while students reported a non-judgemental teaching space which allowed them to explore and redress recognised limitations in knowledge and skill. Patient-educators described their motivation to teach as being driven by a sense of responsibility to their community. Preceptor attitudes may function as a barrier to the effectiveness of this teaching, and further attention should be paid to supporting the education of clinical facilitators in TGD health.ConclusionThe experiences of TGD patient-educators and medical students in this study suggest that this model of teaching could serve as a transferable template for TGD health and the inclusion of other historically marginalised groups in medical education.

786 A Collaborative, Online, 'Near-Peer' Teaching Programme for Medical Schools with Short Breast Surgery Rotations

Abstract Aim The quality of teaching for breast surgery, a niche specialty that medical schools dedicate little placement time to, can vary from hospital to hospital. This single-centre cross-sectional study investigated whether a new near-peer teaching programme could improve this. Method An online teaching programme was created and executed by final year medical students (‘near-peers’) for penultimate year students rotating through a week-long Breast Surgery placement at a major teaching hospital in London, United Kingdom. It consisted of asynchronous pre-tutorial Single Best Answer questions and an online small group tutorial and was conducted every three weeks for a year. A mix of qualitative and quantitative data were collected using feedback forms. Results Thirty students opted in. The pre-tutorial SBAs were rated 4.07 out of 5, while the near-peer interactive tutorial scored 4.77 out of 5. Students’ self-reported confidence, on a scale of 1 to 5, increased significantly by an average of 1.5 points (p <0.001). Students also rated this programme either the same or more highly than all other teaching modalities available during these their clinical placements. Thematic analysis of free-text responses showed that students enjoyed the interactivity of the sessions, the exam relevance of the content covered, and the utility of this programme in consolidating information at the tail-end of their placements. Conclusions This novel interactive teaching programme was designed and executed relatively easily by near-peers, was received favourably in our pilot, and can be easily implemented for other 'short-rotation specialties' in medical school (e.g., urology, vascular surgery, ENT).

Teaching About Climate Change Impacts on Health: Capturing the Experience for Educators

Climate change is a wicked problem. It is valuable for those working in public health to understand the causes, impacts, and possible responses that affect human health. Educators disagree on effective pedagogical strategies that are both engaging and motivating for students. This research evaluated a course involving climate change and health taught to first-year undergraduate students using a survey codesigned and analyzed through a student–staff partnership. The survey found strong correlations between curiosity and interest in learning and motivation to act. The student respondents preferred educational delivery for best learning outcomes included accessible preparatory material, small group tutorials, and guest lecturers providing specialist disciplinary perspectives. The majority considered there is a link between learning about and subsequently acting on climate change, although a need was identified for educators to promote intrinsic motivation within students in addition to disseminating information in classes. In considering the human health impacts of complex health issues, this article provides a valuable capture of course design and teaching methods that can enhance students’ motivation to act beyond the completion of a university course.

Helping medical undergraduate students to understand healthcare costs.

Developing clinical leadership competencies in medical students ideally would be an experiential process. One crucial leadership competency in the UK Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management leadership framework, is ‘managing services’; a key aspect of this is being aware of healthcare costs. This is challenging within the crowded MBBS curriculum, with students naturally focused on their emergent diagnostic and clinical management skills. A pre-existing epidemiology assessment at St George's University of London (SGUL), the case analysis project (CAP), requires first year clinical students to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of screening and diagnostic tests and the treatment evidence base for a patient condition they have encountered clinically. To give students an appreciation of the cost of healthcare, this innovative extension of the project required that students additionally estimate the costs of both their chosen diagnostic tests and treatment. The students are provided with a tailored form of the English National Cost Collection for the NHS,1 an annually published spreadsheet of average costs for every test and treatment, ranging from phlebotomy to heart transplantation. The resource was downloaded, irrelevant content removed, and a simple costing methodology created, ignoring the database's subtle categorisations such as 'case complexity'. Students were directed to the British National Formulary for drug costs. A pre-recorded lecture and worked examples were prepared on the SGUL online learning platform, demonstrating the use of the tailored spreadsheet, and other resources, in estimating costs. Students are supported with their project by clinical and epidemiological tutors in two separate small group tutorials. A training session and access to student resources were provided to tutors, as this was unfamiliar content for them. During implementation, student queries which tutors could not answer were escalated to the CAP clinical academic lead. The tutor training session generated improvements in presentation of material and offered an opportunity to pilot the intervention with educators. Keeping the task simple, and our focus on developing clear training resources for students and tutors, were successful approaches as there were few student queries requiring escalation. Delivering the tutorials required no additional tutor time. Nearly all students costed investigations and treatments correctly. Tutors reported lively and engaged discussions around healthcare costs and encouraged students to use this resource in their future discussions and learning around health economics. The innovation was successful in achieving an appreciation of health service costs for medical students and giving them the opportunity to practise scholarship relating to a crucial leadership competency. Two challenges encountered by students were the different terminology used for tests in the database compared with clinical terms and locating the test or treatment, both issues were resolved within the tutorials. Finally, an important limitation is that the costings in the NHS database do not take account of ‘care’ provision, admission duration, costs for co-morbidities or indirect costs such as building maintenance/utilities. However, these limitations could be a focus for further expansion of this educational intervention, thus continuing the development of our future clinical managers and leaders.

Comparative study of the performance of second MBBS students – old curriculum versus new curriculum – in pharmacology subject in their internal examination

Background: Competency-based medical education (CBME) has been introduced by the national medical council for all the undergraduate medical students in all the medical colleges throughout India. This study aims at comparing the performance of second MBBS students in their internal assessment belonging to two consecutive batches with old curriculum (2018–2019 batch) comprising of 146 students and new curriculum (2019–2020 batch) comprising of 142 students. The impact of new MBBS curriculum on 2nd-year MBBS students in pharmacology subject was also assessed in this study. Aim and Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare the performance of the students in their internal assessment in two consecutive batches with old (2018–2019 batch) and new curriculum (2019–2020 batch). A questionnaire-based survey was done among (2019–2020) batch second MBBS students to find out the impact of new MBBS curriculum on second MBBS students in pharmacology subject. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective, record-based, and comparative study done in the Department of Pharmacology, at Shadan Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, during September 2022–November 2022. The internal assessment marks were collected by retrieving the records of students and a questionnaire to assess the impact of new second MBBS curriculum on 2nd-year MBBS students in pharmacology subject was circulated among 142 students belonging to (2019–2020 batch) following the new curriculum. Out of 142 students, 111 students responded to this questionnaire. Results: The mean marks obtained by old curriculum (2018–2019 batch) in theory were 66.7 and in practical were 72.2, whereas the mean marks obtained by new curriculum (2019–2020 batch) in theory were 68.4 and in practical were 74.1. Nearly 60 (54.1%) students disliked and 51 (45.9%) students liked the shortening of second MBBS duration. Ninety-four (84.7%) students liked and 18 (16.2%) disliked skills laboratory and computer aided learning into the new curriculum, 52 (46.8%) students liked small group discussion, tutorials, seminars, and self-directed learning, whereas 61 (55%) students disliked them. Questions based on clinical problems and attitude, ethics, and communication were liked by 94 (84.7%) students and disliked by 17 (5.3%) students. Thirty-one (27.9%) students liked and 81 (73%) students disliked the new curriculum question paper. Seventy-six (68.5%) students liked and 36 (32.4%) students did not like the increase in duration of pharmacology question paper. Seventy-eight (70.3%) students preferred new curriculum, whereas 38 (34.2%) students preferred old curriculum. Conclusion: This study revealed relatively better performance of (2019–2020 batch), that is, new curriculum batch students in their internal assessment compared to (2018–2019 batch), that is, new curriculum batch students. To improve the performance of students in their internal as well as final summative examinations, there is a need to emphasize on assessment of attitude, communication skills, ethics, and faculty development program.

Moving from tangibility toward digitalization: investigating team dynamics and facilitator support among medical students in conventional and digital small-group tutorials

BackgroundSmall group tutorials (SGT) promotes self-directed learning and is widely used in medical education. The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has accelerated the trend toward SGT digitalization, with unclear effect. We hypothesize that team dynamics and facilitator support influence SGT satisfaction in digital versus conventional SGT.MethodsDuring the spring semester of year 2021, medical students (the second, third, and fourth year; n = 433) participating in conventional face-to-face and digital SGT curricula were enrolled. Participating students completed the collaborative learning attitude scale (including team dynamics, team acquaintance, and facilitator support dimensions) and teamwork satisfaction scale, previously validated for small-group collaborative learning, and chose preference between conventional or digital SGT in future curricula. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to extract the essential structural factors of these scales. Paired t-tests were conducted to compare differences in different dimensions and satisfaction between the conventional and digital SGT settings. Two sets of multiple regression analyses were done; one with team satisfaction scale results and the other with preference for digital SGT as the dependent variable were used to evaluate determinants of these two variables.ResultsThe EFA results revealed that the original collaborative learning attitude scale was concentrated on two dimensions: team dynamics and facilitator support. No significant differences were noted between the SGT settings for the two dimensions and teamwork satisfaction. Regression analyses showed that teamwork dynamics was independently correlated with teamwork satisfaction in both conventional and digital SGT. Facilitator support was positively correlated with teamwork satisfaction in conventional, but not digital SGT. Higher teamwork satisfaction was an important determinant of preference for digital SGT among medical students.ConclusionsTeam dynamics were closely linked to teamwork satisfaction among medical students in both conventional and digital SGT, while the role of facilitator support became less obvious during digital SGT.

Connecting students in a large class using virtual tutorials: instructors’ perspectives of student interactions and peer learning

During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide attempted to stem the spread of the virus through measures including social distancing (Onyeaka et al., 2021). At the National University of Singapore, classes were moved online where students could continue with their education remotely (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020). In the past two years, in our Cell Biology course with more than 200 students, we re-designed the course online based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model (Garrison et al., 2000) and created social presence through small-group tutorials mediated on MS Teams. Based on Vygotsky’s idea of zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978), we incorporated guided group annotations of research articles, and facilitated discussion sessions on short answer questions (SAQ) related to the lecture topics to foster collaborative-learning. During each 90-minute tutorial, the course coordinator (YFM) and two tutors (LSC and LZW) visited each virtual tutorial group for about 10 minutes per group to facilitate discussions and address students’ questions. With only three instructors in a large class, there was limited time each could spend facilitating discussions within each group. As such, not all groups met with an instructor during some of the tutorials. Nonetheless, the students would have met us in at least two tutorials by the end of the year. During the first year, we noted discussions among students and interactions between students and ourselves. However, not all groups were actively discussing the tutorial activities. We also observed that only a few students in each group were actively engaged in the tutorials. Furthering improvement in the second year, we had students take turns acting as group leaders during the tutorials to take attendance and facilitate their peers to be on-task for group discussions. For the SAQ activities, students were tasked to answer the questions individually prior to online discussion sessions. During virtual tutorials, they then shared and discussed viewpoints with their peers. Post tutorials, students submitted their refined answers and reflected on whether the tutorials had enhanced their understanding or if they had contributed to the group discussions. Participation marks were awarded for these submissions. Consequently, there was increased student engagement during the tutorials, based on instructors’ observations during the tutorials. Prior to this, we were not able to interact with students and only noted limited student engagement with the module content during large-class lectures. However, there were several aspects that can be improved. We could: set clearer expectations by explaining the rationale of organising small-group tutorials to students. explore designing more challenging group tasks where students will need to produce group artefacts (to encourage more discussion). provide better scaffolds targeted at guiding focused discussions amongst students Overall, the virtual, small-group tutorials afforded opportunities for student interactions and overcame the need of physical venues to house many groups of students in face-to-face classes. We intend to incorporate such online tutorials into our subsequent blended learning design for large-class modules. However, teaching and learning activities need to be specifically designed to foster social presence. Ample time should be provided for individual attempts prior to group discussions and submission of group assignments would encourage better student interactions and peer learning.

Active Learning in Flipped Classroom and Tutorials: Complementary or Redundant?

Cambridge undergraduates have regular active-learning opportunities in small-group tutorials, in which they solve problems and discuss ideas based on course material. Would they see any value in performing similar tasks in flipped-classroom settings, or would they regard the introduction of a second active-learning modality as redundant? Following the replacement of traditional lectures with flipped teaching within three physiology courses, with tutorials ongoing, questionnaire responses showed that students felt that they learned and understood more, and felt better-prepared for exams. Although similarities were recognised, the context of the active learning evidently made flipped classroom and tutorial teaching feel very different, probably because of the different levels of attention from the instructors. Questionnaire and interview comments suggested a complementarity between the two approaches, in that engaging with problems within a flipped classroom could give students more confidence in tutorials and in essay-writing, while tutorials offered more opportunities for individually-tailored feedback.

Evaluating the portfolio as a social work capstone project: a case study in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Capstone experiences can be an important rite of passage for students. The portfolio has been discussed in social work education discourse as a valuable pedagogic method for a capstone project. However, there are only a small number of studies evaluating the actual impacts of portfolio use in a social work program. This article addresses this gap, describing and evaluating the use of portfolios as capstone projects in a social work program in Hong Kong. The findings suggest that the portfolio-based capstone project is generally a positive experience from both instructors and students’ perspectives and that there are three key learning impacts of this pedagogic method: i) the consolidation of students’ learning throughout the program; ii) professional identity development; and iii) enhanced reflexivity. This study indicates that the small group tutorial format is a key attribute that contributes to these learning impacts. Further, the findings shed light on critical points of review and discussion regarding the program and the professionalization of social work in Hong Kong—specifically, the need to review and discuss the decolonization and localization of social work education.

Current Final Year Medical Students' Response to the Varying Attitudes towards Small Group Tutorial Classes Used in Medical Schools in India.

Current Final Year Medical Students' Response to the Varying Attitudes towards Small Group Tutorial Classes Used in Medical Schools in India.

1081 'Making the Leap’ To ST3 Plastic Surgery: An Interactive Online Course, In Response To COVID-19

Abstract Aim The ‘Making the Leap’ interactive online course (MTL) was specifically designed to be delivered during the COVID-19 restrictions. This course aimed to facilitate the difficult transition from CT to ST3 in Plastic Surgery. Method The courses consisted of interactive small-group tutorials, each conducted over 2 days, via Zoom, covering 12 plastic surgery core topics in 8 tutorials. The course was attended by 43 delegates from across the UK and abroad. The tutorials were delivered by 27 plastic surgery consultants. Anonymous feedback was collected from both delegates and faculty. Results The overall feedback from delegates were unanimously positive; 100% of the delegates stated that ‘they would recommend the course to a colleague’. All faculty and delegates agreed the use of video conferencing and small group tutorial to be either ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ suitable for an interactive virtual course like MTL. 98% of delegates thought the course has made them feel more prepared to be a registrar, and 69% of delegates preferred an online interactive course instead of the traditional face-to-face method, for non-practical based courses. Conclusions COVID-19 necessitated delivering ‘Making the Leap” as a Zoom course. However, the feedback clearly demonstrated the need for such a course, and the suitability of the format. We discuss the challenges and learning points from our experience delivering successful interactive courses via Zoom.

Using community diagnosis on primary care placements for medical students

ABSTRACT Background: Over 35 years ago Julian Tudor Hart highlighted how medical undergraduate education needed to adapt to produce clinicians who were better situated in communities. However, we still struggle to engage medical students in understanding the social and environmental determinants of health, the value population level data and public health interventions. Our approach: Third year medical students carried out a community diagnosis project where they evaluated quantitative, qualitative and observational data for the community in which they were living. They examined Public Health England fingertips data to choose a topic, gathered and evaluated further information, considered potential solutions, and created a 5-min presentation for their small group tutorial. The students were supported by GP tutors from East London, allowing a novel role for GP tutors to teach on this topic. Evaluation: GP tutors and students gave positive feedback on both the design and delivery of the module. Students frequently made the link between their previous theoretical teaching in public health and the application of it in the GPCD module, appreciated the value of investigating their local area and commented upon the opportunity to consider the wider determinants of health. The GP tutors felt the project gave the students an insight into the lived realities of others. Conclusions: This module was an effective cross-collaborative approach between primary care and public health. It gave a practical application to build on previous theoretical public health learning, and evidence of transformational learning for the students, helping them to understand the impact of health inequalities.