How do medical students perceive professional attitudes? A multi-center study

To determine the attitude of students from different medical schools towards the medical profession and evaluate the effect of gender and year of medical education Multi-center cross-sectional study Six medical schools located in different geographical regions of Turkey All the first and final year medical students [n =1941] at these schools participated after the study protocol was approved in these schools. A Medical Profession Attitude Scale [MPAS] was administered to the students to determine the attitude of students towards the medical profession. Another questionnaire was established to see any association between attitudes and demographic characteristics. Mann-Whitney U test was used for the statistical analysis done using the SPSS for PC 13.0. Attitude of students towards the medical profession, the year at the medical school and gender. 78.7% of the first and final year students could be accessed. The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient for the freshmen and seniors was 0.94 and 0.95, respectively, and 0.95 for the whole group. First year students' scores for all subscales were significantly higher. Similarly, the female students had higher scores. Final year students' lower scores may be related to concerns regarding confidence and competence arising during the clinical years where self-image as a doctor evolves. Providing professional education during the medical course becomes an increasingly important issue to prevent deterioration in professional attitudes. The individual qualifications, values, attitudes and behaviour will improve in the following years

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