Analysis of Bangladeshi Medical Undergraduates Ability to Retain Anatomical Information by Using Mnemonics

Anatomy forms the fundamental base for the medical undergraduates during the earlier period of MBBS course. It is a vast subject and it always needs some specialized approach to teaching-learning. For easier retrieval of recalled anatomical information, medical undergraduates use different mnemonics. But the effectiveness of different mnemonic techniques like ‘Rhyme’ and ‘Storytelling’ has not been addressed systematically. Methods: This cross sectional analytical study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh from March 2017 to February 2018 and sample was collected from two public medical colleges in Dhaka City. Total 93 first year medical undergraduates of both sex were selected and divided into three groups (‘Rhyme’, ‘Storytelling’ and control) in the ‘memory tests’ on Neuronantomy. The effectiveness in memorizing anatomical information was determined and differences between effectiveness detected by comparing the performances of medical undergraduates. Results: Judging by the performances of the medical undergraduates, ‘Rhyme’ was found significantly more effective in memorizing anatomical information than ‘Storytelling’ and control group. Conclusion: The idea regarding the effectiveness of specific mnemonic techniques should be helpful in deciding on where and how to use or avoid the use of mnemonics according to their actual potentials.

Diagnostic value of bedside echocardiography with simple A-F mnemonic within 5 minutes by beginners in patients with acute chest pain / 中华急诊医学杂志

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of A-F mnemonic performed by sonographers with limited experience in patients with acute chest pain. Methods This was a prospective observational study. Bedside cardiac ultrasound for patients with chest pain was performed by six sonographers with limited experience using A-F mnemonic, evaluating indexes including aortic dissection(A), both ventricles (B), regional wall motion abnormality (RWMA), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 50％ (C ,contractility), dimensions (D), pleural and pericardial effusion (E) and further abnormalities (F). Afterwards, experienced cardiac sonographers performed the same examinations, and the difference in the time of ultrasound examination was calculated. The diagnosis of experienced sonographers were referred as the control group, and kappa test was applied to analyze the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. Results There were 245 cases eligible for study, and 20 cases were excluded. Finally 225 cases of acute chest pain were included in the analysis, containing 158 fatal chest pain and 67 low-risk chest pain. The experienced sonographers diagnosed 20 cases of ascending aortic dissection, 5 cases of right ventricular dilatation, 72 cases of RWMA, 12 cases of LVEF ≤ 50％, 45 cases of left ventricular dilatation, 6 cases of hydropericardium, and 6 cases of other abnormalities. The consistency between beginners and experienced sonographers were as follows:completely same (hydropericardium, Kappa=1.000), highly consistent (ascending aortic dissection, Kappa=0.853, right ventricular dilatation, Kappa=0.931, and other abnormalities, Kappa=0.829), moderately consistent (RWMA, Kappa=0.768, LVEF ≤ 50％, Kappa=0.713 and left ventricular dilatation, Kappa=0.766). The sensitivity and negative predictive value of RWMA and LVEF ≤ 50％ and the positive predictive value of left ventricular dilatation in the beginner sonographers were lower than those in the experienced sonographers. Conclusions A-F mnemonic was a simple and practical way for the beginner sonographers to perform bedside cardiac ultrasound. It was of significant value in making correct diagnosis of most acute chest pain patients and providing quick and reliable information for clinicians.

Evaluation of Knowledge and Attitude among Medical Students towards Mnemonics Learning.

Background: Many different ways exist to undertake and encourage students to improve their information and understanding of a subject matter. This study was undertaken to measure the impact of student-based mnemonic construction with multiple selection questions (mnemonics) as a stimulant for the training and understanding of topics in biochemistry. Methods: Medical students were selected voluntarily from various medical colleges. They were approached with a pre-validated mnemonic’s with prior oriented mnemonics. Feedback questions were taken from students regarding mnemonics usage. Statistics: Descriptive statistics was used and results were expressed as percentage. Results: 135 students were selected from first year for this study. A set of questionnaires were place and directed to decide on the suitable possibility as per the likert scale. The response were collected and analyzed. 65% of students very much liked learning mnemonics, 54% of students expressed interest to create mnemonics before going to exams. 38% of students expressed that they were terrified with mnemonics. 67% of students felt confident with mnemonics, 57% students opined that future theory teaching should be based contain few interesting mnemonics. 71% of students felt mnemonics helped them in remembering, analysing, evaluating and understanding difficult medical concepts. Conclusion: The fact that the mnemonics didn't test deep learning could suggest that the students did not gain the higher levels of understanding hoped for, but this is often a difficult conclusion to make particularly because it isn't a realistic expectation for students to provide mnemonics testing higher order cognitive skills at their first try.

Mnemotecnia y metamemoria en personas mayores / The Keyword Mnemonic Technique and Metamemory in Elders

En esta investigación, se pretendió averiguar la influencia de la mnemotecnia de la palabra clave en el recuerdo y en los juicios metamnemónicos: juicios de facilidad de aprendizaje (EOL), juicios de aprendizaje (JOL) y juicios de confianza (CL), tanto en una lista corta de 16 palabras latinas (Experimento 1) como en una lista larga de 32 palabras latinas (Experimento 2). Tanto en el Experimento 1 como en el Experimento 2 se efectuó un diseño experimental de dos grupos independientes. En el Experimento 1 participaron 88 mujeres, con una media de edad de 74.34 años. En el 2, participó un grupo de 84 mujeres, de una edad similar al anterior. En ambos experimentos se realizó una prueba t de Student para muestras independientes. En el Experimento 1, se encontró que el método de la palabra clave fue superior al método de repetición en el recuerdo y en los juicios de confianza en la respuesta (CL). En el Experimento 2, se halló que el método de la palabra clave fue significativamente superior al método de repetición en el recuerdo y en todos los juicios metamnemónicos estudiados. El método de la palabra clave fue más eficaz que el método de repetición.

This study consisted of two experiments designed to assess the efficacy of the keyword mnemonic technique on recall and the following mnemonic judgments: ease of learning (EOL), judgments of learning (JOL), and confidence level (CL) using a short word list i.e., 16 Latin words (Experiment 1), or a long word list, 32 Latin words (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1 an experimental design with two independent groups was performed, involving 88 women, mean age 74.34 years, a Student's t-test for independent groups was performed and the keyword method was found to be more efficacious than the rote learning method on recall and confidence level judgments (CL). In Experiment 2 an experimental design with two independent groups was performed, involving 84 women of similar age, a Student's t-test for independent groups was performed, and the keyword method was significantly more efficacious than the rote learning method on recall and all of the mnemonic judgments under study. The keyword method was more effective than the rote learning method.

Efectos a largo plazo de los síntomas depresivos en una tarea de memoria de trabajo con y sin interferencia atencional / Long-term effects of depressive symptoms on a task of visual working memory with and without attentional interference

La neurobiología de la depresión involucra cambios estructurales del sistema nervioso relacionados con procesos cognitivos como la memoria y la atención. El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar el efecto a largo plazo de la sintomatología depresiva (SD) en una tarea de memoria de trabajo visual con y sin interferencia atencional en estudiantes universitarios. Se utilizó un diseño factorial de 2 X 2 en el cual las variables independientes fueron la condición clínica (con SD y sin SD) y la versión del Memonum (con o sin interferencia de color). Memonum es un software para evaluar memoria de trabajo por medio de la retención de dígitos directos, en dos versiones: una blanco-negro (sin interferencia) y otra con un distractor atencional de color (con interferencia). Para la evaluación de la SD, 76 universitarios respondieron al CES-D, luego se les aplicó aleatoriamente una u otra versión de la prueba Memonum (con o sin interferencia de color), 2 semanas después de la detección de síntomas. De manera general, la SD no alteró a largo plazo el desempeño de los participantes en tareas de memoria de trabajo visual con o sin interferencia atencional. Sin embargo, se pudo establecer que la utilización de las estrategias para la ejecución de la tarea mnemónica dependió de la condición clínica, y la agrupación fue la menos usada por los participantes con SD.

The neurobiology of depression involves structural changes in the nervous system associated with cognitive processes such as memory and attention. This study sought to evaluate the long-term effect of depressive symptomatology (DS) using a task of visual working memory with or without attentional interference in college students. A 2 X 2 factorial design was used wherein the independent variables were the clinical condition (with and without DS) and the Memonum version (with and without interference of color). The Memonum consists of software to evaluate working memory through retention of direct digits, in two versions: a black-white (without interference) and another with a color attentional distractor (with interference). Depressive symptomatology was evaluated by applying the CES-D to 76 undergraduates. Two week after the diagnosis of DS, the test version was randomly applied (with or without attentional interference). The DS did not alter long-term performance of the tasks involved in visual working memory with or without attentional interference. However, it was found that the use of strategies for mnemonic task performance depended on the clinical condition, being the strategy of grouping the least used by the participants with DS.