Development of Learning Consultation Program for Medical Students / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: The purpose of this report was to develop a learning consultation program to help medical students adjust to studying. Also, it investigated students with learning difficulties and determined their learning needs. METHODS: Four hundred forty-two medical students from 2 medical schools in Korea were surveyed with regard to learning difficulties and learning consultation needs. Of the respondents, 202 students were male and 206 were female; the remained was unidentified. We used frequency and crosstab analysis to analyze the data from the survey. RESULTS: The needs analysis showed that first-year students had the most serious academic difficulties of those who were surveyed, possessing a lack of learning skills and medical adaptation to clinical situations. In response, these students wished to receive learning consultation from the medical faculty and senior students. Thus, we developed a learning consultation program for medical students, based on learning consultation cases in domestic and foreign universities. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that medical students have learning difficulties and need learning consultations, especially first-year students. Therefore, we developed a learning consultation program that consists of problem screening, problem specifications, and choosing strategies. After implementing the program, it can help medical students adjust to the medical environment. Furthermore, these findings have implications for studies on learning consultation programs for medical students.

The Effects of Attribution Tendencies, Academic Stress, and Coping Efficacy on Academic Adjustment of Medical Students / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: This study investigated the relationship among types of attribution tendencies, academic stress, coping efficacy, and academic adjustment in medical students and identified the means by which the academic adjustment of medical students can improve. METHODS: Four hundred forty-two subjects from 2 medical schools in Korea were analyzed; 202 were male, 206 were female, and 34 did not identify their gender. We surveyed their academic adjustment, attribution tendencies, academic stress, and coping efficacy. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The male group scored higher on academic adjustment, internal attribution tendency, and coping efficacy but lower on academic stress than the female group. Coping efficacy and internal attribution tendency affected the academic adjustment positively while academic stress influenced it negatively. CONCLUSION: The study indicates that students with higher scores on coping efficacy and internal attribution tendency and who have lower scores on academic stress tend to adjust better academically in medical school. Therefore, these findings may be helpful for medical schools in designing effective academic adjustment programs to improve coping efficacy and internal attribution tendency and reduce academic stress. Further, these findings have important implications for planning learning consultation programs, especially in Year 1.

Instructional Analysis of Lecture Video Recordings and Its Application for Quality Improvement of Medical Lectures / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: The lecture is a technique for delivering knowledge and information cost-effectively to large medical classes in medical education. The aim of this study was to analyze teaching quality, based on triangle analysis of video recordings of medical lectures, to strengthen teaching competency in medical school. METHODS: The subjects of this study were 13 medical professors who taught 1st- and 2nd-year medical students and agreed to a triangle analysis of video recordings of their lectures. We first performed triangle analysis, which consisted of a professional analysis of video recordings, self-assessment by teaching professors, and feedback from students, and the data were crosschecked by five school consultants for reliability and consistency. RESULTS: Most of the distress that teachers experienced during the lecture occurred in uniform teaching environments, such as larger lecture classes. Larger lectures that primarily used PowerPoint as a medium to deliver information effected poor interaction with students. Other distressing factors in the lecture were personal characteristics and lack of strategic faculty development. CONCLUSION: Triangle analysis of video recordings of medical lectures gives teachers an opportunity and motive to improve teaching quality. Faculty development and various improvement strategies, based on this analysis, are expected to help teachers succeed as effective, efficient, and attractive lecturers while improving the quality of larger lecture classes.

Differences in Factors Affecting Medical Specialty Choices between Medical College Students and Graduate Medical School Students / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to compare the specialty preference and factors that affect choices of medical specialties between medical college students and graduate medical school students. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was conducted in 563 medical students, and 482 (graduates: 199, undergraduates: 283) responded (response rate, 85.61%). The students completed a brief survey, which included 39 items that sampled their demographic data, career choice, and factors that influenced their choice. RESULTS: Most students in medical college and graduate medical school preferred clinical medicine. Graduate medical school students preferred internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine. In contrast, medical college students preferred neurology, family medicine, and psychiatry. Important factors that affected the selection of specialties were seniors' advice, advice of other students, clerkship experiences, and specialty experiences. CONCLUSION: This result shows that there are differences in the factors that affect the selection of medical specialties between medical college students and graduate medical school students. But, the opportunity to explore future careers and to consult their choice of specialty, in accordance with the needs and characteristics of individual students, must be provided for all medical students.