Empowering students to create their dramatizations increases understanding of physiology.

Complex subjects such as physiology can be challenging for students to learn. These challenges are not uncommon in implementing the learning process in physiology and affect learning outcomes. Dramatization is an interactive and effective method to improve learning outcomes. In a project designed by senior medical students, junior medical students were guided in creating dramatizations related to three topics. Senior students were trained and assisted to prepare scenarios and make videos. The dramatizations were then carried out with junior medical students to help them better understand physiology and pathophysiology topics. A group of junior students receiving the same topics in a lecture format served as a control group. Pretest and posttest questionnaires were used to measure the improvement of learning outcomes. Assessment results showed an increase in performance in both groups. This study shows that dramatizations provide an effective alternative to lectures for instructing junior medical students.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The preparation of dramatizations involved students. The ideas, analogies, and dramatizations were originally from students. Dramatization is an alternative form of understanding learning objectives of medical physiology in an interesting way to increase motivation.

IUPS Physiology Education Workshop series in India: organizational mechanics, outcomes, and lessons.

Active learning promotes the capacity of problem solving and decision making among learners. Teachers who apply instructional processes toward active participation of learners help their students develop higher order thinking skills. Due to the recent paradigm shift toward adopting competency-based curricula in the education of healthcare professionals in India, there is an emergent need for physiology instructors to be trained in active-learning methodologies and to acquire abilities to promote these curriculum changes. To address these issues, a series of International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) workshops on physiology education techniques in four apex centers in India was organized in November 2018 and November 2019. The "hands-on" workshops presented the methodologies of case-based learning, problem-based learning, and flipped classroom; the participants were teachers of basic sciences and human and veterinary medicine. The workshop series facilitated capacity building and creation of a national network of physiology instructors interested in promoting active-learning techniques. The workshops were followed by a brainstorming meeting held to assess the outcomes. The aim of this report is to provide a model for implementing a coordinated series of workshops to support national curriculum change and to identify the organizational elements essential for conducting an effective Physiology Education workshop. The essential elements include a highly motivated core organizing team, constant dialogue between core organizing and local organizing committees, a sufficient time frame for planning and execution of the event, and opportunities to engage students at host institutions in workshop activities.

Leading and Sustaining Curricular Change: Workshop Proceedings from the 2018 Sex and Gender Health Education Summit.

The education of health science professionals must balance the incorporation of new and essential content against the current curriculum density. Scientific evidence documenting the impact of sex and gender on health outcomes establishes the need for incorporation of these topics into the health science curriculum. An interprofessional workshop was designed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to effectively champion curricular change. Surveys before and after the workshop assessed the participants' perception of curriculum change. Introductory presentations addressed topics of organizational readiness and characteristics of change agents. This was followed by role-play activities in groups of 8 to 10, utilizing two scenarios. The first scenario involved a faculty champion advocating for change to the school curriculum leadership, and the second scenario involved the curriculum leadership advocating for change to the teaching faculty. After the role-play, participants shared the important points discovered by their groups, and the same information was collected by survey. After the workshop, 95% participants reported an increased ability to advocate for the inclusion of sex and gender topics in the curriculum. The most important aspect of the workshop was the providing of resources related to the teaching of sex and gender topics. We conclude that a workshop format balancing didactic information and role-playing scenarios is an effective tool for empowering faculty to introduce changes in health sciences curricula in areas that may be new to faculty or health science school leadership, such as the impact and role of sex and gender on health outcomes.

2nd Pan American Congress of Physiological Sciences, Havana, Cuba, May 27-31, 2019.

Physiology education was well represented at the 2nd Pan American Congress of Physiological Sciences in Havana, Cuba, with two symposia, a workshop, and a poster session.

Meeting report: IUPS and ADInstruments 2017 Teaching Workshop.

Every 4 yr, the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) Teaching Workshop is held as a traditional satellite event of the IUPS Congress. The 2017 satellite workshop was held August 5-8, 2017 in Búzios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The workshop provided an opportunity for discussion and experiences in physiology teaching for educators at various levels, graduate students, and undergraduate students. This report describes the workshop activities and reports the participants' perceptions of this event. For evaluation of perception, an anonymous questionnaire was sent by e-mail to all participants, addressing nine items: appropriate topics, time of activities, poster session, congress venue, registration fee, attention of the organizing committee before and during the event, social event, and food. Responses were ranked according to a five-point Likert scale. Of the 145 participants, 77 answered the questionnaire. The participants' perception was positive, noting in particular opportunities to share knowledge, space for reflection of teaching practice, contact networks for future, exchanges of experience, and collaborations in research in physiological education.

The anatomy of the pediatric airway: Has our knowledge changed in 120 years? A review of historic and recent investigations of the anatomy of the pediatric larynx.

BACKGROUND: There is disagreement regarding the anatomy of the pediatric airway, particularly regarding the shape of the cricoid cartilage and the location of the narrowest portion of the larynx. AIMS: The aim of this review is to clarify the origin and the science behind these differing views. METHODS: We undertook a review of published literature, University Libraries, and authoritative textbooks with key search words and phrases. RESULTS: In vivo observations suggest that the narrowest portion of the airway is more proximal than the cricoid cartilage. However, in vitro studies of autopsy specimens measured with rods or calipers, confirm that the nondistensible and circular or near circular cricoid outlet is the narrowest level. These anatomic studies confirmed the classic "funnel" shape of the pediatric larynx. In vivo studies are potentially misleading as the aryepiglottic, vestibular, and true vocal folds are in constant motion with respiration. These studies also do not consider the effects of normal sleep, inhalation agents, and comorbidities such as adenoid or tonsil hypertrophy that cause some degree of pharyngeal collapse and alter the normal movement of the laryngeal tissues. Thus, the radiologic studies suggesting that the narrowest portion of the airway is not the cricoid cartilage may be the result of an artifact depending upon which phase of respiration was imaged. CONCLUSION: In vivo studies do not take into account the motion of the highly pliable laryngeal upper airway structures (aryepiglottic, vestibular, and vocal folds). Maximal abduction of these structures with tracheal tubes or bronchoscopes always demonstrates a larger opening of the glottis compared to the outlet of the cricoid ring. Injury to the larynx depends upon ease of tracheal tube or endoscope passage past the cricoid cartilage and not passage through the readily distensible more proximal structures. The infant larynx is funnel shaped with the narrowest portion the circular or near circular cricoid cartilage confirmed by multiple in vitro autopsy specimens carried out over the past century.

The 2014 Claude Bernard Distinguished Lecture: the social contract of learning.

The shift to competency-based education expands the role of the teacher from that of a provider of information and into a shaper of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These roles are facilitated by establishing a social contract between the instructor and learner, a contract that clearly defines the rights and duties of each. Adopting greater responsibility for the development of competencies in our learners allows faculty members to truly have an impact by shaping the behaviors of learners.

APS: 125 years of progress of physiology as a scientific discipline and a profession.

The Experimental Biology 2012 meeting in San Diego, CA, included events to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the American Physiological Society (APS) and reflect on the recent accomplishments of the society. Most of the APS activities in the past quarter century were guided by a series of strategic plans. Membership in the APS increased by 76% since 1987, and there are now 8,342 regular members of the society, including an expansion of international members to 26% of APS's membership. The numbers of elected officers and committee members have expanded to accommodate this larger membership. APS Publications changed dramatically during this time, having adopted online submission and review of manuscripts as well as a streamlined review and publications process that have significantly shortened the period from submission to acceptance to publication. Compared with 1987, the number of manuscripts submitted has increased by 80% and the number of printed pages increased by 52%. In addition to the refinement of the Experimental Biology meeting (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology meeting before 1993) format, APS launched a specialty conference program in the 1990s. The educational offerings of APS also dramatically expanded in the past 25 yr, often supported by external grants and contracts. APS education programs now support physiology education and science awareness at K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels as well as continuing education of its members. The founding of APS was tied to the need for effective advocacy, and APS continues to meet those goals through its Science Policy Committee and Animal Care and Experimentation Committees. At its 125th birthday, APS continues to serve the discipline and the needs of its membership.

Pre-clinical grades predict clinical performance in the MBBS stage II examination at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.

In the preclinical sciences, statistically significant predictive values have been reported between the performances in one discipline and the others, supporting the hypothesis that students who perform well in one discipline were likely to perform well in the other disciplines. We therefore decided to conduct a retrospective study to investigate the predictive effects of preclinical subjects on clinical subjects from 87 students of The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus who took the MBBS Stage II examination at various times between May 2000 and May 2002. The grade in Pathology was significantly predicted by scores in Anatomy and Pharmacology; Medicine by Physiology and Pharmacology scores; Surgery by Anatomy and Social and Preventive Medicine scores; while, the Obstetrics and Gynecology grade was predicted by the Anatomy score. The results support the hypothesis that the scores in some preclinical subjects can predict the performance in specific clinical subjects, which could be interpreted to suggest that poor performance in specific preclinical disciplines could be a warning sign of future poor performance in the related clinical disciplines.

Comparison and prediction of preclinical students' performance in the MBBS stage I examination at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.

This retrospective study involved the analysis of the grades of ninety-four preclinical students who took the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Stage I Examination in Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Social and Preventive Medicine, and Pharmacology between December 1997 and May 1999 at the Mona Campus of The University of the West Indies (UWI). A statistically significant correlation was observed among the basic science subjects. Additionally, a statistically significant prediction was found between the performances of the students in one discipline and the others, with Physiology being the most predicted. The data support the hypothesis that students who performed well in one discipline were likely to perform well in the other disciplines; and also that the performance in some subjects could predict the performance in others. This result may also justify further investigation as to whether the performance in certain basic sciences disciplines at the preclinical stage can be used to predict performance in the clinical disciplines.