Medical education online
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Medical education online · Jan 2016
Observational StudyFaculty development in point of care ultrasound for internists.
Lack of general medicine faculty expertise is a likely contributor to the slow adoption of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) by internal medicine (IM) residency training programs. We developed a 10-week faculty development program, during which 15 faculty members participated in 2 hours and 10 hours of online didactic and hands-on training, respectively. Pre-post comparisons showed that there were statistically significant improvements in faculty participants' ability to interpret images (p<0.001), perceived understanding of the capabilities and limitations of POCUS (p=0.003), comfort using POCUS to make clinical decisions (p=0.003), and perceptions regarding the extent to which POCUS can improve patient care (p=0.026). The next challenge for IM programs is to improve access to ultrasound machines and provide follow-up workshops to facilitate further development of skills and integration of POCUS into daily practice by general medicine faculty.
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Medical education online · Jan 2016
A word-count approach to analyze linguistic patterns in the reflective writings of medical students.
Teaching reflection and administering reflective writing assignments to students are widely practiced and discussed in medical education and health professional education. However, little is known about how medical students use language to construct their narratives. Exploring students' linguistic patterns in their reflective writings can facilitate understanding the scope and facets of their reflections and their representational or communication approaches to share their experiences. Moreover, research findings regarding gender differences in language use are inconsistent. Therefore, we attempted to examine how females and males differ in their use of words in reflective writing within our research circumstance to detect the unique and gender-specific approaches to learning and their applications. ⋯ To enhance students' empathy toward the psychosocial issues faced by patients and their family members, students should be encouraged to explore the domain of psychological processes by identifying and expressing their affective and perceptual experiences. Researchers in future studies should use outcome measures such as self-awareness or empathy to determine the overall effectiveness of reflective writing and how changes in linguistic patterns affect such outcomes.
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Medical education online · Jan 2016
Cognitive aid use improves transition of care by graduating medical students during a simulated crisis.
Residents are expected to have transition of care (ToC) skills upon entering graduate medical education. It is unclear whether experience and training during medical school is adequate. ⋯ The completeness of information transfer during the ToC process by graduating medical students improved by using a cognitive aid in a simulated patient crisis.
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Medical education online · Jan 2016
Impact of a family medicine resident wellness curriculum: a feasibility study.
Up to 60% of practicing physicians report symptoms of burnout, which often peak during residency. Residency is also a relevant time for habits of self-care and resiliency to be emphasized. A growing literature underscores the importance of this; however, evidence about effective burnout prevention curriculum during residency remains limited. ⋯ This feasibility study demonstrates how a residency wellness curriculum can be developed, implemented, and evaluated with promising results, including high participant satisfaction.