Student rating as an effective tool for teacher evaluation

To determine the effectiveness of students' rating as a teacher evaluation tool. Concurrent mixed method. King Edward Medical University, Lahore, from January to June 2010. Anonymous 5-point Likert scale survey questionnaire was conducted involving a single class consisting of 310 students and 12 students were selected for structured interview based on non-probability purposive sampling. Informed consent was procured. They were required to rate 6 teachers and were supposed to discuss teachers' performance in detail. Quantitative data collected through survey was analyzed using SPSS 15 and qualitative data was analyzed with the help of content analysis by identifying themes and patterns from thick descriptions. This student feedback would show the effectiveness in terms of its feasibility and as an indicator of teaching attributes. Descriptive statistics of quantitative data obtained from survey was used to calculate mean and standard deviation for all teachers' individually. This showed the average direction of the student ratings. Percentages of the responses calculated of teacher A were 85.96%, teacher B 65.53, teacher C 65.20%, teacher D 69.62%, teacher E 65.32% and teacher F 64.24% in terms of overall effectiveness of their teaching. Structured interviews generated qualitative data which validated the students' views about strengths and weaknesses of teachers, and helped to determine the effectiveness of their rating and feedback. This simple rating system clearly showed its importance and hence can be used in institutions as a regular evaluating method of teaching faculty

Use of limberg flap for pilonidal sinus-a viable option

Pilonidal sinus disease has been treated for a long time with conventional open excision technique. The rhomboid flap of Limberg is a transposition flap that has been pleaded for treatment of this condition. We present our experience with the Limberg technique for both primary and recurrent pilonidal sinuses. One hundred and ten patients, with pilonidal sinus disease were treated with rhombic excision and Limberg transposition flaps. All sinus tracts were resected en bloc, and the fasciocutaneous Limberg flap was prepared from the gluteal region and closed it with a suction drain. Full primary healing was obtained in 110 patients, 1 patient had minimal necrosis of flap and 2 had gaping of flap. Minor infection occurred in 3 patients. But all these complications healed uneventfully. The average hospital stay was 3 days. Follow up period was 1 year and 1 recurrence occurred. Limberg transposition flap is a promising surgical technique to treat pilonidal sinus