Medical education
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Randomised, controlled study investigating the optimal instructor: student ratios for teaching suturing skills.
Recently, there has been a shift away from practising procedures on patients for the first time and towards bench model teaching of clinical skills to undergraduate medical students. However, guidelines for the most effective instructor : student ratio for technical skills training are unclear. This has important implications for staffing laboratory based teaching sessions. The purpose of this study was to assess the optimal ratio of teachers to learners during the teaching of a simulated wound closure. ⋯ The optimal instructor:student ratio was 1 instructor for 4 students. Higher ratios of instructors to students resulted in no improvements in learning, and lower ratios of instructors to students resulted in significantly less learning. These findings are in keeping with current motor learning theories.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of directed and self-directed learning in evidence-based medicine: a randomised controlled trial.
To compare 2 educational programmes for teaching evidence-based medicine (EBM). ⋯ This trial and its accompanying qualitative evaluation suggest that self-directed, computer-assisted learning may be an alternative format for teaching EBM. However, further research is needed to confirm this and investigate alternative educational models.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Individualised training to improve teaching competence of general practitioner trainers: a randomised controlled trial.
In Flanders an important part of training to become a general practitioner (GP) is undertaken within a general practice. This requires a GP trainer to know how to facilitate learning processes. This paper reports a study focused on the research question: Does short but individualised training of GP trainers contribute to their teaching competence? ⋯ General practitioners who start as GP trainers have insufficient teaching competence to guarantee good coaching of students. A personal programme leads to progress in teaching competence; however, it would seem that more time and support are necessary to allow GP trainers to gain full teaching competence. The fact that the control group made progress as well suggests that the test had an important learning effect.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Comparison of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) versus traditional textbook methods for training in abdominal examination (Japanese experience).
This study aimed to compare the effects of computer-assisted, text-based and computer-and-text learning conditions on the performances of 3 groups of medical students in the pre-clinical years of their programme, taking into account their academic achievement to date. A fourth group of students served as a control (no-study) group. ⋯ The results suggest that computer-assisted learning methods will be of greater help to students who do not find the traditional methods effective. Explorations of the factors behind this are a matter for future research.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Teaching medical students exposure therapy for phobia/panic - randomized, controlled comparison of face-to-face tutorial in small groups vs. solo computer instruction.
To compare the teaching value of one session of computer-guided solo instruction in exposure therapy for phobias with that of one face-to-face small-group tutorial. ⋯ The knowledge gain from a solo computer session resembled that from a small-group face-to-face tutorial, and required far less teacher time, but was less enjoyable. Enjoyment might rise if the computer session was group-oriented and aimed at students rather than patients. In general computer teaching might be best used to complement rather than replace conventional teaching.