Journal of Advances in Medical Education & Professionalism
Volume:11 Issue: 2, Apr 2023

Critical appraisal of medical literature is a challenging step of the evidence-based medicine practice. Manyassessment questionnaires have been published in the literature, but they have mainly focused on all the evidence-based medicine practice process. The authors aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire assessing the critical appraisal skills of medical students from the same Faculty. The questionnaire was developed by item generation through a review of the literature and an expert committee. The questionnaire was validated in terms of content validity and construct validity. Fitness of data for analysis was checked through Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s sphericity. Construct validity was carried out using a principal axis exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with ‘varimax’ rotation to study the internal structure of the questionnaire and to extract the test major factors. The questionnaire was administrated to a cohort of under and postgraduate medical students (n=84) to evaluate the test reliability and select the best items. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient to evaluate the internal consistency. The correlations between the self-confidence and satisfaction dimension score, the critical thinking dimension score, the learning style dimension score, the Fresno-adapted test scores and the total score were assessed using the Spearman’s correlation test. The questionnaire consisted of 31 items. A factorial analysis grouped the items into 3 dimensions that consisted of the self-confidence and satisfaction dimension, the critical thinking dimension and the learning style dimension. Cronbach’s alpha accounted for 0.95, CI95% [0.9-1] for the entire questionnaire. The factor analysis explained 79.51% of the variance. The external validity assessment based on a Spearman’s correlation study highlighted a weak correlation between the total scores and the critical thinking dimension and the self-perception and satisfaction dimension. In spite of the limitations of this study, mainly the small number of the students recruited, the questionnaire seems to measure with adequate reliability the competences of under and postgraduate medical students.

Mind mapping is a visual mapping technique used in a few disciplines of medical education to represent ideas linked to and arranged around a central core idea or topic through different subtopics/categories. We aimed to utilize this technique to teach the undergraduate medical students the morphology of skin lesions and assess its effectiveness. This pre- and post-test quasi-experimental study was done among 144 undergraduate medical students. A total of 144 students were selected, and odd and even roll numbers were categorized into two groups using simple random sampling. Group 1 (intervention group) students were taught using mind mapping technique and Group 2 (control group) with traditional lecturebased teaching. A Computer-Assisted pre-test and post-test were carried out. A feedback questionnaire was administered to the intervention group to explore the students’ perceptions regardingmind mapping as a learning tool. The data were analysed using SPSS software (version 16), and the difference in the mean preand post-test scores was found using independent sampled-t-test. Pre and post-test score distribution was 5.04±1.27 and 11.44±2.52 (P≤0.001), respectively, in the intervention group. In the control group, the pre and post-test score distributions were 4.83±1.39 and 8.04±1.63, respectively. The mean rank of the mind mapping group was higher (76.43) than the lecture group (67.5). Among the students, 97.2% agreed on the fact that mind mapping enhanced their interest in learning, and 91.7% of the students were satisfied with mind mapping as the learning method. To kindle the interest and develop critical thinking skills in students, faculty members should continue to explore and evaluate the efficacy of various learning and teaching strategies. Mind mapping could be a novel and integral part of conventional teaching techniques in medical education as evidenced by our student’s performances.

University training for committed and specialized human resources is not provided only through specialized skills training; graduates in any field need high quality soft skills for fulfilling the requirements of the community, so the proper integration of such skills into the curriculum of that profession is essential. Given the significance of soft skills in the success and quality of dentistry and lack of attention to soft skills training in basic sciences courses, the present study aimed to identify the requirements of the process-oriented integration of soft skills training in basic sciences courses of dentistry.

The present qualitative study employed a semistructured interviewing technique for data collection. The research population consisted of 39 basic sciences faculty members at Isfahan and Mazandaran Universities of Medical Sciences and education experts selected by a purposive sampling technique. The content analysis method was used to analyze the data.

For the process-oriented integration of soft skills in basic sciences courses, the current study identified four central requirements: providing background conditions (provision of socio-cultural contexts in society; development of educational and evaluation platforms in pre-university courses), providing professionalism (development of professionalism in the doctoral course of basic medical sciences; improvement in the model of faculty members), providing conditions for changing the curriculum (modification of curriculum and objectives in the basic sciences courses in dentistry; development of the attitude and knowledge of basic science faculty members towards soft skills training), and providing conditions for university pedagogy (provision of interactive and communication conditions; benefitting from diverse and appropriate learning activities; development of faculty members’ pedagogical abilities).

Medical sciences curriculum planners can integrate the soft skills of dentistry in the basic science courses of the field by providing the conditions for the identified requirements.

Mobile health (mHealth) technology–based applications provide strong medical health-care support. Applications have an important impact as tools to improve the knowledge and support the health-care team practice. In this study, an over-the-counter (OTC) therapy application was developed based on Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS). CDSS is a key to improve health-related decisions and healthcare delivery. Furthermore, the quality and effectiveness of this application were evaluated among community pharmacists. The application was designed and developed for 10 topics of OTC therapy. After the approval of the expert panel, 40 pharmacists affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS) participated in this before and after quasi-experimental study. The related scenarios and checklists were designed for the ten topics. The participants hadto manage the scenarios first by their knowledge and then with the application. The knowledge and pharmaceutical skills in OTC therapy were evaluated based on the obtained scores and the time recorded. The quality of the application was evaluated by pharmacists using user version of mobile application rating scale (uMARS) questionnaire. To comparebefore/after measurements of parametric and non-parametric data, we used the paired t-test and Wilcoxon matched-pairs test, respectively. Besides, the variables was compared using Mann-Whitney test. The statistical significance was considered at P<0.05. The analyses were performed using the statistical software Stata (ver. 13). All scores after using the application increased, and the P-value w as n ot s ignificant. Also, the recorded time was increased after the use of the application, and the P-value was not significant. The minimum mean scores of the six uMARS questionnaire sections were 3. It means that acceptable scores were obtained in all sections of the questionnaire. The “App quality score” section of the application was reported 3.45±0.94. No relationship was found between gender and the median score of each section of the uMARS questionnaire. The OTC therapy application developed in this study will help Persian-speaking pharmacists to increase their knowledge and pharmaceutical skills.

Simulation-based interprofessional education (IPE) provides the basis for the necessary competencies forinterprofessional collaboration. This study aimed to examine the effects of this educational approach on anesthesia students’attitude and teamwork. This quasi-experimental study was performed on 72 anesthesiology residents and nurse anesthesia students consisting of 36 participants in the intervention and 36 in the control group. The intervention group participated in a simulation-based interprofessional season, including three scenarios in the induction phase of anesthesia. The control group received routine education. We used the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) to measure attitude and the KidSIM Team Performance Scale to assess teamwork. The data were analyzed by Analysis of Covariance, paired T-test, Chi-square, and Fischer’s exact test in SPSS software, version 22. Comparing post-test scores by ANCOVA showed a significant difference between groups (P=0.001) because there was a significant positive change in the overall attitude score in the intervention group after receiving simulation-based IPE. Regarding the quality of teamwork, the intervention group’s scores in all three sub-scales changed significantly after intervention (P<0.05). The simulation-based IPE is recommended to promote a teamwork culture and train empowered anesthesiaprofessionals.

Coronavirus pandemic has created a wide range of psychological complications. Students of medical sciences, like health personnel, are at a high risk of infection with coronavirus. The present study is an attempt to examine the correlation between anxiety caused by coronavirus and attitude and motivation toward the field of study in medical sciences students at Ilam University of Medical Sciences. This correlational study was done on 373 students in different fields of medical sciences at Ilam University of Medical Sciences from April to September 2020. The participants were selected through stratified random sampling. Data gathering was done using Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS), Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), and Educational Attitude Standard Questionnaire. The questionnaires were completed online by the participants. The data were analyzed using SPSS software and Pearson’s correlation test, independent t-test and analysis of variance at a significance level of (P<0.05). Based on the Pearson correlation coefficient, the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety and educationalmotivation (P=0.001) and attitude (P=0.03) was inverse and significant. There was a significant statistical difference in theaverage score of anxiety caused by coronavirus in students of different fields. The highest mean anxiety score was in theoperating room students and the lowest anxiety score was in the laboratory science field (P=0.001). Coronavirus pandemic has created anxiety and lowered educational motivation and attitude in students ofdifferent fields of medical sciences.

Assessing and improving infection prevention and control (IPC) knowledge and practicing skills among medical students who are the future medical practitioners is crucial for reducing the burden of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). In this study, we assessed the IPC knowledge of undergraduate clinical-year medical students before and after interventional IPC modular training and evaluated the effectiveness and students’perception on structured modular IPC training presented to them.

This cross-sectional interventional study was conducted on single medical cohort comprising of 145 final-yearundergraduate medical students of the academic year 2022-23 at COMHS. Pre-test, post-test, and feedback questionnaire were used as the assessing tools. The data were collected, entered into Excel sheet, and analyzed using SPSS software version 22. McNemar and Paired-T tests were carried out, and a P-value<0.05 was considered significant. Feedback of the questionnaire was analyzed using 3 Point Likert Scale as agree, neutral, and disagree.

Overall, mean IPC knowledge scores after training (37.65±1.37) was significantly higher as compared to beforetraining (25.13±4.51). Prior knowledge scores on certain aspects of IPC such as duration of hand washing, steps of hand washing, sequence of donning and doffing of PPE, use of N95 mask, and appropriate sharp and needle precautions, and biomedical waste management were varied from 13.6% to 65.6%. However, overall participants’ knowledge (P<0.001) on these aspects increased significantly after the training. The majority of the participants (>90%) perceived IPC training as an excellent tool to improve IPC knowledge and practicing skills.

IPC training had a significant impact in gaining adequate IPC knowledge and practicing skills among ourparticipants. Therefore, it is recommended that IPC training should be implemented in the undergraduate medical curriculum with greater emphasis on practicing skills.

Students’ incivility in higher education is a serious issue with undesirable impacts such as disturbed learning, interruption in the leaning and teaching environment, and stressful relationship between teacher and learners. It is basically defined as disruptive and unreasonable behaviors which cause psychological or physical distress, turning into threats if no action is taken to deal with them. It may further involve any behavior or verbal statement with negative impacts on teacher and students’ health, adversely affecting their occupational relationship, thereby disturbing the teaching and learning process. Educational weaknesses in dealing with virtual incivility can revolutionize the relationships and turn it into effective instruction if all stakeholders understand the nature of virtual communication and revisit their own roles in such an environment. University administrators may keep on evaluating such behaviors and provide instructors with constructive advice to enhance the quality of the course content and classes in virtual settings.