Effects of medical communication curriculum on perceptions of Korean medical school students / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: The study examines changes in students' self-assessment of their general communication (GC) and medical communication (MC) competencies, as well as perceptions of MC concepts. METHODS: Participants included 108 second year medical students enrolled at a Korean medical school studying an MC curriculum. It was divided into three sections, and participants responded to questionnaires before and after completing each section. To assess perceived GC and MC competency, items based on a 7-point Likert scale were employed; a single open-ended item was used to examine students' perceptions of MC. Statistical analysis was conducted to gauge GC and MC competency, whereas semantic network analysis was used to investigate students' perceptions of MC. RESULTS: Students perceived their GC competency to be higher than MC. Perceived MC competency differed significantly across the three sections, whereas no differences were found for GC. There were no statistically significant differences after completing the curriculum's second and third sections; however, the vocabulary students used to describe MC concepts became more scholarly and professional. In the semantic networks, the link structure between MC-related words decreased in linearity and looseness, becoming more complex and clustered. The words ‘information’ and ‘transfer’ proved integral to students' perceptions; likewise, ‘empathy’ and ‘communication’ became closely connected in a single community from two independent communities. CONCLUSION: This study differed from prior research by conducting an in-depth analysis of changes in students' perceptions of MC, and its findings can be used to guide curriculum development.

Explanatory Study of Medical Students' Perception of Life Concept / 의학교육논단

This study surveyed 506 medical students on their perception of life concept using an open-ended questionnaire. A constant comparative analysis of participants' written responses was conducted. The results revealed 3 main types and several sub-types of life concept. The main types included: humanities & sociology type, scientific type, and humanities · sociology & science mixed type. The humanities & sociology type had 6 sub-types: religious values, ethical values, limited time, social characteristics, consciousness · spirit · soul, and mixed type. The scientific type had 4 sub-types as follows: respiration & metabolism, genetic & reproduction, homeostasis & emergent property, and mixed type. The most prevalent type was the perception that life concept, ethical values in humanities & sociology type. The understanding of the concept of life is essential to medical students' learning and improvement of professional competence. These results may suggest a meaningful direction for medical education regarding the concept of life.

Trends of research articles in the Korean Journal of Medical Education by social network analysis / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: This aim of this study is to examine trends in medical education research in the Korean Journal of Medical Education (KJME) and suggest improvements for medical education research. METHODS: The main variables were keywords from research papers that were published in KJME. Abstracts of papers (n=499) that were published from 1991 through 2015 were analyzed by social network analysis (NetMiner 4.0) a common research method for trends in academic subjects. RESULTS: The most central keywords were "medical education," "clinical competence," "medical student," and "curriculum." After introduction into graduate medical school, newly appearing keywords were "professional behavior," "medical humanities," "communication," and "physician-patient relation." Based on these results, we generated a schematic of the network, in which the five groups before introduction to graduate medical school expanded to nine groups after introduction. CONCLUSION: Medical education research has been improving qualitatively and quantitatively, and research subjects have been expanded, subdivided, and specific. While KJME has encompassed medical education studies comprehensively, studies on medical students have risen in number. Thus, the studies that are published in KJME were consistent with the direction of journal and a new study on the changes in medical education is being conducted.