Scientific competence during medical education - insights from a cross-sectional study at a German Medical School.

BACKGROUND: Medical knowledge regarding the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of diseases is constantly evolving. To effectively incorporate these findings into professional practice, it is crucial that scientific competencies are a central component of medical education. This study seeks to analyse the current state of scientific education and students' desires for integration into the curriculum. METHODS: From October to December 2022, a survey was distributed at the Medical Faculty Dresden to all medical students from the 1st to 5th academic year (AY). The survey investigates current expectations of applying scientific competencies later in professional life, and the students were asked to self-assess various scientific skills and in relation to the National Competence Based Catalogue of Learning Objectives for Undergraduate Medical Education. The self-assessments were objectified through a competence test with ten multiple-choice questions. The desire for curricular teaching was inquired. RESULTS: 860 students completed the survey. This corresponds to a response rate of 64%. In the 5th AY, approximately 80% of the participants stated that they expected to work with scientific literature on a daily to monthly basis in future professional life and to communicate corresponding scientific findings to patients. Only 30-40% of the 5th AY rate their scientific competencies as sufficient to do this appropriately. This corresponds with the self-assessed competencies that only slightly increased over the 5 AYs from 14.1 ± 11.7 to 21.3 ± 13.8 points (max. 52) and is also reflected in the competence test (1st AY 3.6 ± 1.75 vs. 5th AY 5.5 ± 1.68, max. 10 points). Half of the students in the 4th and 5th AYs were dissatisfied with the current teaching of scientific skills. The majority preferred the implementation of a science curriculum (56%), preferably as seminars dealing with topics such as literature research, analysis, and science communication. CONCLUSIONS: The results show discrepancies between expectations of using scientific knowledge in everyday professional life, self-rated and objectively recorded competencies, and the current state of curricular teaching of scientific competencies. There is a strong need for adequate practical training, particularly in critical analyses of scientific literature, which enables the communication of scientific knowledge to patients.

Animal rights, animal research, and the need to reimagine science.

What would it look like for researchers to take non-human animal rights seriously? Recent discussions foster the impression that scientific practice needs to be reformed to make animal research ethical: just as there is ethically rigorous human research, so there can be ethically rigorous animal research. We argue that practically little existing animal research would be ethical and that ethical animal research is not scalable. Since animal research is integral to the existing scientific paradigm, taking animal rights seriously requires a radical, wholesale reimagining of science.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05340426.

Hope for brain health: impacting the life course and society.

Hope is a cognitive process by which an individual can identify their personal goals and develop actionable steps to achieve results. It has the potential to positively impact people's lives by building resilience, and can be meaningfully experienced at both the individual and group level. Despite this significance, there are sizable gaps in our understanding of the neurobiology of hope. In this perspective paper, the authors discuss why further research is needed on hope and its potency to be harnessed in society as a "tool" to promote brain health across healthy and patient populations. Avenues for future research in hope and the brain are proposed. The authors conclude by identifying strategies for the possible applications of hope in brain health promotion within the areas of technology, arts, media, and education.

[Depth and integration of science modules in medical studies at recognized public and private faculties in Germany: A cross-sectional study]. / Ausmaß und Integration von Wissenschaftsmodulen in das Medizinstudium an den staatlichen Fakultäten und den privaten staatlich anerkannten Fakultäten in Deutschland: eine Querschnittsstudie.

BACKGROUND: At the end of November 2020, four years after the adoption of the Masterplan Medizinstudium 2020, the Federal Ministry of Health presented the draft bill for the revision of the medical licensing regulations. This was adapted in August 2021 and stipulates, among other things, the completion of a mandatory scientific project up to the second stage of the medical examination, which is to be conducted within twelve weeks and based on the structured teaching of scientific skills using longitudinal courses. This study examines to what extent the mentioned aspects of the draft bill are already included in the current compulsory curricula in German medical study programs. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, we conducted a document analysis and an online survey of the student deaneries of state and private, state-recognized faculties of medicine in Germany. The objective was to assess the integration of curricular science projects and longitudinal science modules. The data was analyzed descriptively. RESULTS: In total, 40 (93%) of 43 faculties were included in the document analysis. 26 (60.5%) of 43 academic deans responded to the online questionnaire. Only twelve (30%) of the faculties offer a mandatory science project according to the document analysis and eight (30.8%) according to the evaluation of the online survey. In relative terms, a mandatory science project is already a curricular component in the majority of model and reform degree programs (document analysis: 83.3%, n=10 / N=12; questionnaire: 87.5%, n=7 / N=8). This contrasts with a significantly smaller number of regular degree programs that currently offer a science project as a mandatory component (document analysis: 16.7%, n=2 / N=12; questionnaire: 12.5%, n=1 / N=8). In the majority of the model and reform courses, a compulsory (longitudinal) science module has already been integrated into the curriculum (document analysis: 75%, n=12 / N=16; questionnaire: 55.5%, n=6 / N=11). This is only true for 25% (n=4 / N=12; document analysis) and 44.5% (n=5 / N=11; questionnaire) of the regular courses. DISCUSSION: The results of the surveys indicate that the regular study programs, in particular, need to be restructured in order to integrate the intended time frame of twelve weeks for an obligatory science project into the current curriculum. How this is to be achieved without reducing the existing study content seems to be still unclear. Regardless of the current draft bill, however, this step appears to be necessary in order to strengthen the acquisition of scientific competencies in medical studies and to adapt it to international medical education. CONCLUSION: The majority of the current model and reformed medical study courses already fulfill the requirements of the draft bill for the new licensing regulations with regard to the curricular integration of an obligatory scientific project and longitudinal strand on scientific work, which offer hints on design possibilities for further faculties.

"I know it's complicated": Children detect relevant information about object complexity.

Mechanistic complexity is an important property that affects how we interact with and learn from artifacts. Although highly complex artifacts have only recently become part of human material culture, they are ever-present in contemporary life. In previous research, children successfully detected complexity contrasts when given information about the functions of simple and complex objects. However, whether children spontaneously favor relevant information about an object's causal mechanisms and functions when trying to determine an object's complexity remains an open question. In Study 1, 7- to 9-year-olds and adults, but not 5- and 6-year-olds, rated information about relevant actions (e.g., the difficulty in fixing an object) as more helpful than information about irrelevant actions (e.g., the difficulty in spelling an object's name) for making determinations of mechanistic complexity. Only in Study 2, in which the relevance contrasts were extreme, did the youngest age group rate relevant actions as more helpful than irrelevant actions. In Study 3, in which participants rated the complexity of the actions themselves, participants performed differently than in the previous studies, suggesting that children in the prior studies did not misinterpret the study instructions as prompts to rate the actions' complexity. These results suggest that the ability to detect which object properties imply complexity emerges during the early school years. Younger children may be misled by features that are not truly diagnostic of mechanistic complexity, whereas older children more easily disregard such features in favor of relevant information.

[How to impart scientific knowledge and writing skills? Digital education during the COVID-19 pandemic using the example of otorhinolaryngology]. / Wie kann wissenschaftliches Arbeiten in der Medizin vermittelt werden? Digitale Lehre in Zeiten der COVID-Pandemie am Beispiel der HNO-Heilkunde.

INTRODUCTION: To make a virtue out of necessity by establishing a digital teaching curriculum in otorhinolaryngology (ORL) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors created the concept of a new digital scientific seminar. Digital competence forms the basis for data literacy in medical and scientific education. In this study, the students' evaluation of the seminar focusing on digital and scientific skill acquisition is presented. METHODS: Included in this prospective monocentric questionnaire study were 265 students. The seminar started with an introduction on the criteria of a good publication, followed by the individual task of understanding the publication on a main ORL topic and writing its abstract. After the seminar, students completed the evaluation questionnaire. RESULTS: Overall, results showed that students rated the seminar well. Free-text comments added that although live teaching was preferred, students found their digital and scientific competence increased through the task of writing a publication abstract on their own. CONCLUSION: Digital education was not only rated well, but improved the students' subjective scientific competence, satisfied the students' wish for digital transformation, and likewise fulfilled the national goals of competence-based education.

The world within: Children are sensitive to internal complexity cues.

When reasoning about the mechanisms of complex entities, it is important to consider their internal parts. Previous research has shown that young children view "insides" as critical to how objects function. However, whether children hold specific expectations regarding complex objects' insides remains an open question. Here, children (n = 378) and adults (n = 124) made internal and causal complexity judgments regarding real-world objects. In Study 1, 5- and 6-year-olds, but not 4-year-olds, succeeded at internal complexity judgments and matched complex artifacts with complex insides. All age groups succeeded at causal complexity judgments and identified complex artifacts as causally complex. Study 2 tested whether the internal complexity cues of number/area, diversity, and connections of internal parts conveyed complexity to children. The 5-year-olds were sensitive only to number/area of internal parts as a complexity cue, but the older children and adults were sensitive to all three cues plus number of parts when controlling for area (Study 3). Despite limited exposure to insides, even young school-age children hold detailed and abstract expectations concerning internal complexity.

Alfabetización científica para la salud global: una reflexión respecto a la formación en investigación / Scientific literacy for global health: a reflection regarding education in research / Alfabetização científica para a saúde global: uma reflexão relativa à formação na investigação

El presente trabajo es una reflexión que intenta contribuir a la discusión en torno a la formación en investigación de los profesionales de la Salud, tomando en cuenta dos conceptos: la alfabetización científica y la salud global. Ambos se vinculan a partir de la reflexividad, habilidad necesaria para la formación en investigación de los futuros profesionales de la Salud. De esta manera, el objetivo es: Proponer la alfabetización científica para la formación en investigación de profesionales de la Salud, en el contexto de los desafíos de la salud global. Para esto se cuestiona la formación basada en la enseñanza del método científico o de métodos cualitativos, argumentando el riesgo de tecnificar la investigación. Se valora, a su vez, la contribución de los métodos cualitativos para la formación de los profesionales de la Salud.

The present study is a reflection with the aim of contributing to a discussion on the research training of Healthcare professionals, taking two concepts into consideration: scientific literacy and global health. Both concepts are linked to reflexivity, a necessary skill to the training in research of future Healthcare professionals. Hence, the objective of this study is to propose the development of scientific literacy for education in research for Healthcare professionals, in the context of the challenges of global health. For that purpose, the study questions the training based on teaching the scientific method or qualitative methods, arguing on the risk of making research too technical, while evaluating the contribution of qualitative methods to the training of Healthcare professionals.

O presente trabalho é uma reflexão que procura contribuir para a discussão sobre o treinamento em pesquisa de profissionais de Saúde, levando em consideração dois conceitos: alfabetização científica e saúde global. Ambos estão ligados à reflexividade, habilidade necessária para o treinamento de pesquisa de futuros profissionais de Saúde. Desta forma, o objetivo é: Propor a alfabetização científica para formação em pesquisa de profissionais de Saúde, no contexto dos desafios da saúde global. Para isso, o treinamento baseado no ensino do método científico ou métodos qualitativos é questionado, argumentando o risco de tecnificar a pesquisa. Por sua vez, o contributo dos métodos qualitativos para o treinamento de profissionais de Saúde é avaliado.

Percepciones de estudiantes universitarios sobre su formación en física en educación secundaria / Perceptions of university students about their education in physics in secondary education

RESUMEN Este artículo presenta los resultados de un cuestionario diagnóstico sobre las percepciones hacia la física, por parte de 104 estudiantes, quienes inician su carrera profesional de Licenciatura en Ciencias Naturales y Educación Ambiental, en una universidad colombiana. Este estudio, se centró en las siguientes categorías: experiencias sobre el aprendizaje de la física, metodología del profesor en la clase de física, dificultades de los estudiantes para aprender física y sugerencias para mejorar su enseñanza. Los resultados reflejan la importancia de explorar y generar estrategias, que permitan optimizar las cuatro dimensiones; por ejemplo, en relación al aprendizaje de la física, los participantes muestran la predominancia del enfoque abstracto. Asimismo, indican la necesidad de incluir en la enseñanza de la física las prácticas experimentales y su contextualización. Se encontraron comentarios positivos hacia el estudio de la física, cuando los estudiantes la han cursado desde los primeros grados de la educación secundaria, lo que sugiere que una enseñanza más temprana y cualitativa, puede favorecer el interés por la enseñanza de la física.

ABSTRACT This article presents the results of a diagnostic questionnaire about perceptions towards physics, by 104 students who start their professional careers as future graduates in Natural Sciences and Environmental Education in a Colombian university. This study focused on the following categories: experiences on learning of physics, methodology of teacher in the physics class, difficulties of the students to learn physics and suggestions to improve their teaching. The results reflect importance of exploring and generating strategies that optimize the four dimensions; for example, in relation to the learning of physics, the participants show the predominance of the abstract approach. Likewise, they indicate the need to include experimental practices and their contextualization in teaching of physics. Positive comments were found towards the study of physics when students have studied it from the first grades of secondary basic education, which suggests that an earlier and qualitative education may favor interest in the teaching of physics.

Using Simulation in Nursing PhD Education: Facilitating Application of Responsible Conduct of Research Principles.

Simulation is a standard clinical nursing educational approach; however, simulation is rarely used in nonclinical nursing education. In doctor of philosophy (PhD) programs, ethical content about responsible conduct of research (RCR) is traditionally didactic, presented early in the program of study. Ethics content merits review before students begin the dissertation phase; thus, the purpose of this project was to design and implement simulated scenarios to help students apply RCR principles prior to beginning independent research. Two scenarios were developed: (a) a potential protocol change discussed in a research team meeting and (b) an in-home data collection experience with an elderly participant and her daughter. Actors were trained faculty volunteers, playing roles outside their usual academic positions. Faculty facilitated scenarios by posing questions as cues related to desired learning outcomes as scenarios unfolded. Eleven nursing PhD students and 6 faculty participated. Debriefing facilitated discussion of RCR principles, common research quandaries, and suggested scenario revisions. Faculty, expert observation, and video-review showed that younger and less experienced students tried to give the "right" answer rather than implement RCR appropriate solutions. Students with more clinical experience had difficulty adopting the less familiar researcher role. Overall, simulation is a novel and useful way to enhance RCR content in PhD programs.