Development and validation of self-assessment instrument to measure the digital professionalism of healthcare professionals using social media.

BACKGROUND: The use of social media across the globe has risen incrementally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these sites undeniably provided new avenues for professional networking but also led to a surge in cases of online misconduct. Professionalism instruments and scales do not assess the digital attitude and behaviour of healthcare professionals (HCPs). The purpose of this study was to identify the domains and items of digital professionalism related to social media use and to validate a self-assessment instrument to assess the digital professionalism of HCPs using social media. METHODS: An instrument development multiphase mixed method study (exploratory sequential) was conducted in two phases: item development and qualitative content validation followed by validation of the instrument. Feedback was taken from 15 experts for qualitative content validation in phase 1. In phase 2, content validity was established through three rounds of modified Delphi. Validity evidence was collected for the content (content validity index), response process (cognitive interviews), internal structure (confirmatory factor analysis), and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha). RESULTS: The 48-item preliminary instrument was reduced to a 28-item instrument with eight domains: self-anonymity, privacy settings, maintenance of boundaries and confidentiality, conflict of interest, accountability, respect for colleagues, and ethics. The content validity index of the scale was 0.91. The reliability and construct validity of the instrument was established by responses from 500 healthcare professionals from multiple hospitals. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a model with a goodness-of-fit index of 0.86, root mean square error of approximation of 0.06, and observed normed χ2 of 2.7. The internal consistency through Cronbach's alpha α was 0.96. CONCLUSION: The digital professionalism self-assessment instrument (DP-SAI) has an appropriate level of content and measures the construct reliably. It can be used by medical doctors, dental clinicians, nurses, physiotherapists, and clinical pharmacists to self-assess and reflect on their social media practices. This will help to address these issues to enhance the quality of online communication through various social media platforms.

Threshold concepts encountered by second year medical students in a Basic Health Science module; a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore threshold concepts in a Basic Health Sciences module. METHODS: The qualitative study was conducted at the Islamabad Medical and Dental College, Islamabad, Pakistan, in March 2019, and comprised students and faculty members in the gastrointestinal tract module of spiral I of the integrated modular curriculum in Basic Health Sciences. Data on student experiences was collected using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. The data was coded and themes were identified by the researchers independently. A thematic matrix was produced, cross-referencing data relating to troublesome areas identified by the students against the threshold concept criteria. The identified themes were discussed among the researchers to reach consensus. Only the identified themes were taken as the expected threshold concepts in the gastrointestinal tract module. RESULTS: Of the 18 subjects, 14(77.8%) were students and 4(22.2%) were facilitators. There were 8 areas identified by the students as troublesome in the module; development of gastrointestinal tract, anatomical relations, electron transport chain, histology of gastrointestinal tract mucosa, peritoneal disposition, anal canal and ischioanal fossae, peristalsis, and absorption across gastrointestinal tract mucosa. Only development of gastrointestinal tract appeared to cross-match with all the criteria outlined for threshold concepts. The troublesome areas identified by the teachers were development of gastrointestinal tract, peritoneal disposition, anatomical relations, absorption across gastrointestinal tract and peristalsis. CONCLUSIONS: Development of gastrointestinal tract was found to be the threshold concept in the system-based integrated module of gastrointestinal tract. Most of the students found their previous knowledge inadequate in learning concepts of the module.

Effect of Team-based Learning on Second Year Students' Academic Performance.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if there was any significant difference in scores of students who acquired knowledge through team-based learning (TBL) versus those who learned through small group discussion (SGD). STUDY DESIGN: Quasi-experimental cross-over study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, from March to December 2015. METHODOLOGY: All students of second year MBBS were assigned to either TBL or SGD, based on non-probability sampling, for 8 themes in a five-week module. The groups were flipped after 4 themes. TBL format recommended by the AMEE guide No: 65 was followed. The impact of both learning methods was assessed by comparing end-of-module written examination scores of the two groups through independent sample t-test. SPSS version 23 was used for data analysis. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: End-of-module written examination scores showed there was no significant difference in student academic performance when they studied with TBL or SGD in themes 1-4 (TBL 61.90 ±13.01 versus SGD 59.65 ±11.56, p=0.41). However, for themes 5-8 there was a significant difference in scores (TBL 65.36 ±11.62 versus SGD 59.92 ±10.65, p=0.03) A trend towards higher scores was observed in content learned with TBL in all eight themes. CONCLUSION: TBL is equally effective as an instructional method as SGD. However, it could not be established that it results in significant improvement in learning.