Medical students with performance difficulties need wide support: Initial results of an academic tutoring program

BACKGROUND: Even students with previous academic success may face challenges that affect their academic performance. Many medical schools offer programs to students at the risk of academic failure, to ensure that they succeed in the course. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: In this report we describe a pioneering academic tutoring program developed at a Brazilian medical school and discuss the initial results of the program based on the feedback from tutors and data regarding the progression of students in the medical course. RESULTS: In 2018, 33 students enrolled into the program. Students' performance difficulties were mainly associated with mental health problems and socioeconomic vulnerability. Of the 33 students, 27 (81.8%) were assisted by the Mental Health Support Service and 16 (48.5%) were assisted by the Social Assistance Service. In addition to the planning academic activity class load, tutors were able to assist students in solving socioeconomic issues, carrying out personal support interventions with the promotion of self-esteem, and presenting suggestions for behavioral changes in their routine. For most students (72%), the action plan proposed by the tutors was successful. Eight of the 14 (57%) students in the fourth year progressed to the final two years of in-hospital practical training (internship). CONCLUSIONS: The Academic Tutoring Program showed positive results for most of the students. Close monitoring and tutor intervention allowed students with poor academic performance to overcome the low performance cycle. These important tasks demand time and energy from tutors, and institutional recognition of these professionals is essential for the successful maintenance of the program.

Randomized trial of physiotherapy and hypertonic saline techniques for sputum induction in asthmatic children and adolescents

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze the efficiency of physiotherapy techniques in sputum induction and in the evaluation of pulmonary inflammation in asthmatic children and adolescents. Although hypertonic saline (HS) is widely used for sputum induction (SI), specific techniques and maneuvers of physiotherapy (P) may facilitate the collection of mucus in some asthmatic children and adolescents. METHODS: A randomized crossover study was performed in patients with well-controlled asthma, and 90 sputum samples were collected. Children and adolescents were assessed using spirometry and randomized at entry into one of three sputum induction techniques: (i) 3% hypertonic saline - HS technique; (ii) physiotherapy (oscillatory positive expiratory pressure, forced expiration, and acceleration of expiratory flow) - P technique; and (iii) hypertonic saline + physiotherapy - HSP technique. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03136042. RESULTS: The total cells (mL) and the percentage (%) of differential inflammatory cells were similar in all techniques. The sputum weight (g) in the HSP technique was significantly higher than that in the HS technique. In all techniques, the percentage of viable cells was >50%, and there was no difference between the HS and P techniques. Moreover, sputum induction did not cause any alterations in the pulmonary function of patients. CONCLUSION: The physiotherapy sputum collection technique was effective in obtaining viable cells from mucus samples and yielded the same amount of sputum as the gold standard technique (hypertonic saline). In addition, the physiotherapy maneuvers were both safe and useful for sputum induction in asthmatic children and adolescents with well-controlled asthma.

"Shadow" OSCE examiner. A cross-sectional study comparing the "shadow" examiner with the original OSCE examiner format

OBJECTIVES: Feedback is a powerful learning tool, but a lack of appropriate feedback is a very common complaint from learners to teachers. To improve opportunities for feedback on objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), a modified examiner role, termed the "shadow" examiner, was tested. This study aims to present and analyze comparisons between the "shadow" examiner and the original OSCE examiner format. METHODS: In 2011, experiments were carried out with modifications to the examiner's role to define the "shadow" examiner format. From February 2012 to May 2014, research was conducted with 415 6th-year medical students. Of these students, 316 were randomly assigned to assessments by both "shadow" and "fixed" examiners. Pearson correlation analysis with linear regression, Student's t-tests and Bland-Altman plots were the statistical methods used to compare the assessment modes. To strengthen the analysis, checklist items were classified by domain. RESULTS: High correlations between the "shadow" and "fixed" examiners' global scores were observed. The results of the analysis of specific domains demonstrated higher correlations for cognitive scores and lower correlations for affective scores. No statistically significant differences between the mean examiner global scores were found. The Bland-Altman analysis showed that the "shadow" examiners' affective scores were significantly higher than those of the "fixed" examiners, but the magnitude of this difference was small. CONCLUSION: The modified examiner role did not lead to any important bias in the students' scores compared with the original OSCE examiner format. This new strategy may provide important insights for formative assessments of clinical performance.

O professor de Medicina do Século XXI: reflexões em Paulo Freire e Theodor Adorno / Medical teachers in the 21st Century: reflections from Paulo Freire and Theodor Adorno

A sociedade contemporânea necessita de médicos competentes, humanos e capazes de solucionar problemas nos mais variados contextos. Buscam-se novas abordagens pedagógicas que valorizem o ensino integrado, a participação ativados alunos no processo de aprendizagem, a diversificação de cenários de ensino e a inserção precoce dos alunos em atividades práticas. Experiências reais necessitam ser construídas e vividas pelos estudantes para reflexão, compreensão e proposição de soluções. Neste trabalho discutimos o papel do professor de medicina como agente de transformação e formação, utilizando referenciais teóricos de Paulo Freire e de Theodor Adorno.

Contemporary society needs competent, humane, doctors able to solve problems in the most varied contexts. This impliesto look for new pedagogic approaches that value integrated teaching, the active participation of pupils in the processof apprenticeship, diversification of teaching settings situations, and early insertion of pupils in practical activities. Real experiences need to be built and lived by students for reflection, understanding and proposition of solutions. In this workwe discuss the role of medical teachers as agents of transformation and education, using as theoretical reference systems those by Paulo Freire and Theodor Adorno.

Crise hemolitica aguda seguida por insuficiencia hepatica fulminante com evolucao fatal, como primeira manifestacao clinica da doenca de Wilson / Acute hemolytic anemia followed by a fulminant hepatic failure with lethal evolution as a first clinical manifestation of Wilson's disease

Descreveremos neste trabalho o caso clinico de paciente do sexo feminino, de 21 anos, portadora de doenca de Wilson, cuja primeira manifestacao clinica da doenca ocorreu como crise hemolitica aguda seguida por insuficiencia hepatica fulminante, com evolucao para o obito apos 26 dias de internacao. O diagnostico definitivo foi obtido apenas com a medida quantitativa do cobre hepatico em material de necropsia...