Relationship between ongoing learning approaches and development of clinical reasoning ability

There are close similarities between the advice for improving clinical reasoning and characteristics of students with a deep learning approach. No study in the literature has explored the relationship between ongoing learning approaches and clinical reasoning ability. This study was designed to explore this relationship. Cross sectional study. A single medical school at the University of New South Wales. Two hundred and sixty year-4 students were invited to participate voluntarily in this study after institutional ethics approval was obtained. The Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire and Diagnostic Thinking Inventory [DTI] were used. A potential relationship between these two variables was explored using the Pearson correlation. Learning approaches and clinical reasoning abilities of participants. One hundred and eighty two out of 216 [84.3%] students responded. There was a significant positive correlation between deep approach and DTI scores while there was a significant negative correlation between surface approach and DTI scores. Ongoing deep approach of early clinical students can improve the development of their clinical reasoning ability while ongoing surface approach may impair this ability. Evaluating ongoing learning approach may be important in sustaining clinical reasoning development

Students' learning approaches at medical schools applying different curricula in Turkey

To investigate the learning approaches of undergraduate students at different medical schools applying different curricula in Turkey. Comparative study. Three medical schools applying different curricula, namely, Hybrid [Akdeniz University], Integrated [Ege University] and Problem Based Learning [Pamukkale University]. All Year I and Year II students [n = 1038] at these three schools were invited to participate. The Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire was chosen to reveal learning approaches. Another questionnaire was established in order to see any association between learning approaches and demographic characteristics. Statistical analyses were done by using SPSS for PC 13.0. Chi-square test was used for the analysis of the data. Learning approaches, gender, living area, parents' graduation and high school characteristics of all students. Nine hundred and sixty six out of 1038 [93%] students filled out the questionnaires. More participants in Year I had approached their learning activities more deeply than those in Year II [x[2] = 16.417, p = 0.00]. Only at the medical school applying Problem Based Learning, more participants in Year II had a deep approach than those in Year I [x[2] = 9.983, p = 0.00 for Year I and x[2] = 16.263, p = 0.00 for Year II]. No association between demographic characteristics except gender and learning approaches was found. Application of Problem Based Learning curriculum may be more helpful in developing a deep learning approach than a Hybrid or Integrated curricula. Measurement of learning approaches at later years will provide stronger evidence