Attitudes among students and teachers on vertical integration between clinical medicine and basic science within a problem-based undergraduate medical curriculum.

Important elements in the curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping are vertical integration, i.e. integration between the clinical and basic science sections of the curriculum, and horizontal integration between different subject areas. Integration throughout the whole curriculum is time-consuming for both teachers and students and hard work is required for planning, organization and execution. The aim was to assess the importance of vertical and horizontal integration in an undergraduate medical curriculum, according to opinions among students and teachers. In a questionnaire 102 faculty teachers and 106 students were asked about the importance of 14 different components of the undergraduate medical curriculum including vertical and horizontal integration. They were asked to assign between one and six points to each component (6 points = extremely important for the quality of the curriculum; 1 point = unimportant). Students as well as teachers appreciated highly both forms of integration. Students scored horizontal integration slightly but significantly higher than the teachers (median 6 vs 5 points; p=0.009, Mann-Whitney U-test), whereas teachers scored vertical integration higher than students (6 vs 5; p=0.019, Mann-Whitney U-test). Both students and teachers considered horizontal and vertical integration to be highly important components of the undergraduate medical programme. We believe both kinds of integration support problem-based learning and stimulate deep and lifelong learning and suggest that integration should always be considered deeply when a new curriculum is planned for undergraduate medical education.

Pros and cons of vertical integration between clinical medicine and basic science within a problem-based undergraduate medical curriculum: examples and experiences from Linköping, Sweden.

Problem-based learning (PBL), combined with early patient contact, multiprofessional education and emphasis on development of communications skills, has become the basis for the medical curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping (FHS), Sweden, which was started in 1986. Important elements in the curriculum are vertical integration, i.e. integration between the clinical and basic science parts of the curriculum and horizontal integration between different subject areas. This article discusses the importance of vertical integration in an undergraduate medical curriculum, according to experiences from the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping, and also give examples on how it has been implemented during the latest 15 years. Results and views put forward in published articles concerning vertical integration within undergraduate medical education are discussed in relation to the experiences in Linköping. Vertical integration between basic sciences and clinical medicine in a PBL setting has been found to stimulate profound rather than superficial learning, and thereby stimulates better understanding of important biomedical principles. Integration probably leads to better retention of knowledge and the ability to apply basic science principles in the appropriate clinical context. Integration throughout the whole curriculum entails a lot of time and work in respect of planning, organization and execution. The teachers have to be deeply involved and enthusiastic and have to cooperate over departmental borders, which may produce positive spin-off effects in teaching and research but also conflicts that have to be resolved. The authors believe vertical integration supports PBL and stimulates deep and lifelong learning.

Characterization of alpha2-adrenoceptor subtypes in pregnant human myometrium.

The aim of the present investigation was to determine which subtypes of the alpha2-adrenoceptors are being expressed in the human pregnant myometrium at term pregnancy. In radioligand binding studies, the specific binding of [3H]rauwolscine to human myometrial membranes was specific and of high affinity with Kd of 2.8 +/- 0.6 nMand Bmax of 95 +/- 5 fmol/mg protein. Results from competition for the binding of [3H]rauwolscine using subtype-selective ligands, oxymetazoline (alpha2A-subptype), chlorpromazine (alpha2B-subtype) and prazosin (alpha2B-alpha2C-subtype), suggested that the alpha2A- and alpha2B-subtypes are being co-expressed. In order to examine if also the alpha2C-subtype is being expressed we used an optimal concentration of oxymetazoline or chlorpromazine which would block the high-affinity site, equivalent to the alpha2A- and alpha2B-subtype respectively. Competition curves of both oxymetazoline and chlorpromazine still showed a significantly better fit using a two-site model, suggesting that the alpha2C-subtype also is being expressed. The expression of alpha2C-subtype mRNA was confirmed using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction on mRNA isolated from myometrial biopsies. In conclusion, our results suggest that all three subtypes of alpha2-adrenoceptors are being coexpressed in the human myometrium at term pregnancy and that alpha2-expression is dominated by the alpha2A-subtype.

Problem-based medical education: development of a theoretical foundation and a science-based professional attitude.

Problem-based learning, combined with early patient contact, integration between different subject areas, elements of multiprofessional education, and special emphasis on the development of communications skills has become the basis for the medical curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping. Critics have questioned the depth of the scientific and theoretical aspects of the curriculum. Through a series of specific measures in the organization of the curriculum and examinations, and due to the pedagogical principles involved per se, our claim is that students graduating at Linköping do possess the required theoretical knowledge and a scientific attitude to the practice of medicine, at least equivalent to that obtained in a more conventional medical curriculum. One such specific measure is that all students perform one field study and two scientific studies during the course of the curriculum. An investigation of student opinions regarding the value of performing scientific projects of their own have shown that these projects have had a positive impact on the students' general scientific attitude and their willingness to engage in future scientific work. The specific skills acquired, as confirmed by oral examinations, were largely determined by the scientific nature of the chosen field of study. Our graduates have not yet progressed far enough in their careers for comparisons to be made on the basis of the Swedish Licensing Board Internship Examinations, but continuing evaluations of students, graduates and licensed doctors emerging from the curriculum will provide future evidence as to whether our present evaluation is correct.

The effect of oral magnesium substitution on pregnancy-induced leg cramps.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine whether women with pregnancy-related leg cramps would benefit from oral magnesium supplementation. STUDY DESIGN: Seventy-three women with pregnancy-related leg cramps were interviewed about their symptoms in a prospective, double-blind, randomized trial. Initial serum magnesium levels and diurnal magnesium excretion was determined in 50% of the patients. Oral magnesium or placebo was given for 3 weeks, after which new interviews and laboratory analyses were performed. RESULTS: Serum magnesium levels in these patients were at or below the lower reference limit, as is also often the case in healthy pregnant patients. Oral magnesium substitution decreased leg cramp distress (p < 0.05 compared with the placebo group, p < 0.001 compared with initial complaints), but did not significantly increase serum magnesium levels, excess magnesium being excreted as measured by an increase in urinary magnesium levels (p < 0.002). CONCLUSION: Oral magnesium supplementation seems to be a valuable therapeutic tool in the treatment of pregnancy-related leg cramps.

An open prospective randomized study of dinoproston and gemeprost in second trimester legal abortions.

The aim of this open prospective randomized study was to compare two non-invasive methods for second trimester abortion using gemeprost pessaries (Cervagem) and dinoproston gel (Cerviprost) concerning effectiveness, time for abortion, consumption of analgesics, infection-rate and side-effects. Forty women admitted for second trimester legal abortion were allocated to treatment with either gemeprost (20) intravaginally or dinoproston (20) intracervically. All patients were pre-treated with a 3 mm in diameter Lamicel tent applied intracervically for about four hours. The success-rate was 95% for gemeprost and 75% for dinoproston within approximately 48 hours. The median abortion time calculated from the insertion of the Lamicel tent for the successful cases was 22 h 0 min for gemeprost and 24 h 5 min for dinoproston (not significant). The shortest abortion time was found among parous women in the Cervagem group. The difference between Cerviprost and Cervagem in parous women was statistically significant. For nonparous women there were no significant differences in abortion time between the two regimes. No significant difference was found in the demand of Pethidin and the infection-rate between the two groups. No major side effects of the treatment were found. Even if no significant difference in successful abortions was found, probably due to the small patient material, Cervagem seems to be the most appropriate of the two non-invasive methods, because of a 95 per cent success-rate within 48 hours, but also due to its simplicity in design.

Alpha-adrenergic receptors in human myometrium: changes during pregnancy.

Myometrial biopsies from 80 women, delivered by cesarean section in 26-42 completed weeks of pregnancy, were analyzed using radiolabeled alpha 1-antagonist [3H]-prazosin and alpha 2-antagonist [3H]-rauwolscine. Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t test (two-tailed), where p < 0.05 was considered significant. The number of alpha 2-adrenergic receptors did not vary (mean value weeks 37-39 = 17.2 +/- 1.3 fmol/mg protein), while the dissociation constant (Kd) for alpha 2-receptors tended to increase with increasing gestational age, implying reduced affinity near term (p < 0.05, mean values 3.4 +/- 0.2 nM). alpha 1-Receptors, however, increased significantly (p < 0.01) in the pregnancy weeks 37-39 (mean value 29.2 +/- 2.9 fmol/mg prot) while Kd was unaltered. Increased number of alpha 1-receptors, along with a decreased affinity of alpha 2-receptors, could, in combination with other factors, play a role in the initiation of labor.