Perceptions and attitudes of first-year medical students on a modified team-based learning [TBL] strategy in anatomy

Although team-based learning [TBL] is widely used in medical education, its evaluation from the perspectives of the students exposed to it has been limited. This paper reports on a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of perceptions of first year medical students towards TBL. Lectures in an anatomy course were transformed into a series of TBL sessions for two cohorts of first-year medical students. Each session consisted of pre-class reading, in-class readiness assurance tests, and problem-solving of clinical cases by student teams. At the end of each course, students were surveyed using qualitative and quantitative instruments to assess their perceptions of the strategy. Internal consistency of questionnaire items was determined by a reliability analysis [Cronbach's alpha]. Principal component factor analysis and correspondence analysis were conducted on the quantitative data. Open-ended questions were explored by thematic analysis. Students' evaluations indicated that TBL is a welcome alternative to lecture-based teaching; as implemented in this study, it encouraged clinical problem solving and fruitful in-class discussion. Principal component factor analysis identified five factors [Cronbach's alpha 0.602-0.875]. However, the majority of students disapproved of mixed gender TBL teams. Most students agreed that the strategy facilitated consistency in their study, generated an increased awareness about self directed learning, and had a positive impact on their learning attitudes. TBL is a welcome instructional strategy as reported by our first-year medical students. It was perceived to be a better approach compared to content-based lectures. The effect on actual student performance is currently being investigated

Interprofessional education [IPE] activity amongst health sciences students at Sultan Qaboos University. The time is now!

Historically, health professionals have been educated in profession-specific institutions which provide limited opportunities for learning interprofessional [IP] skills. Many qualified practitioners are therefore poorly prepared for the challenges of IP practice [IPP]. Patients today have complex needs and typically require more than one professional to address their medical issues and effective IP care relies upon health care professionals' abilities to communicate with one another. Competent communication improves the quality of care, thus enhancing patient outcomes. The objective of IP education [IPE] is to prepare students to deliver IP care in the future. Sultan Qaboos University's medical and nursing colleges train the future health workforce for Oman. However, students have no opportunities for collaborative learning. It is imperative that opportunities be created where students learn with, about, and from each other with the aim of improving the quality of care they are likely to deliver in the future

"Between a rock and a hard place": the discordant views among medical teachers about anatomy content in the undergraduate medical curriculum

The last two decades of medical education have been marked by a persistent push towards curricular reform. Anatomy as a discipline, the unshakable foundation of medical teaching for hundreds of years, has been at the centre of this development. Although it is widely agreed that for doctors to be competent, they need an adequate knowledge of anatomy underpinning medicine, there is much less agreement over the quantity required, and who should decide and define it. Many clinicians feel medical students are being under-trained in this basic medical science before reaching the clinical stages. Professional accreditation boards advocate the reduction of factual information in undergraduate medical courses. Anatomists complain of a progressive erosion of the time allocated to the subject. Caught in the midst of this controversy is the student of anatomy who is left bewildered and confused about what is required from him to become a safe and competent health professional. The way forward might, first, be for medical schools to facilitate discussions between students, anatomy professors, and clinicians to bring these divergent perspectives into alignment. Second, the anatomists need to re-invent themselves in two principal frameworks: first, to present the subject in the context within which it will be utilised by the student, and second to employ the overwhelming learning tool of today, i.e. technology, in their teaching and assessment of the subject

Perceptions and attitudes of medical students towards two methods of assessing practical anatomy knowledge

Traditionally, summative practical examination in anatomy takes the form of 'spotters' consisting of a stream of prosections, radiological images and dissections with pins indicating specific structures. Recently, we have started to administer similar examinations online using the quiz facility in Moodle[TM] [a free, open-source web application for producing modular internet-based courses] in addition to the traditional format. This paper reports on an investigation into students' perceptions of each assessment environment. Over a 3-year period, practical assessment in anatomy was conducted either in traditional format or online via learning management software called Moodle[TM]. All students exposed to the two examination formats at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, were divided into two categories: junior [Year 3] and senior [Year 4]. An evaluation of their perception of both examination formats was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire consisting of restricted and free response items. More than half of all students expressed a clear preference for the online environment and believed it was more exam-friendly. This preference was higher amongst senior students. Compared to females, male students preferred the online environment. Senior students were less likely to study on cadavers when the examination was conducted online. Specimen quality, ability to manage time, and seating arrangements were major advantages identified by students who preferred the online format. Computer-based practical examinations in anatomy appeared to be generally popular with our students. The students adopted a different approach to study when the exam was conducted online as compared to the traditional 'steeplechase' format

First-order stereology in diabetes and endocrine research-number and volume estimation of objects

Stereology is a technique that enables acquisition of data on number, volume, length or surface area of identifiable objects in a three-dimensional structure by sampling in two dimensions. That is, it provides a technique for quantifying objects on a slice from the structure such as a histological specimen viewed under the microscope or a computerised tomography [CT] scan. It has the enormous virtue of having a rigorous mathematical foundation and rules for counting that also give a reliable measure as well as an indication of precision. First-order stereology denotes estimating volume, surface area, length or number of any biological object. Terms such as degeneration, toxicity, atrophy hypertrophy, dysgenesis, and proliferation all refer to alterations in one or more of these parameters. However, as it is the case with almost all pertinent studies, it is not possible to count the number of relevant units directly. Yet the information is essential if we want to know how experimental or environmental interventions affect an organ's development. For example, what effect does the absence of a particular growth factor or reduced nutrition have on the number or size of islets, and at what stage of development does this occur; or has behavioural experience or environmental insult affected the number of chromophobes in the pituitary gland? The mainly unbiased and reliable way to obtain such information is by means of stereology. This technique is an absolutely essential tool for any biologist who needs to know the number of units in any system, whether they be functional units like number of islets within the pancreas, or cell organelles like mitochondria. It also provides a means of obtaining size, length and surface area of any object under consideration. In this review the current practical applications of two first-order stereology parameters in relation to diabetes and endocrine research are highlighted