Characteristics of medical teachers using student-centered teaching methods.

PURPOSE: This study investigated characteristics of medical teachers who have adopted student-centered teaching methods into their teaching. METHODS: A 24-item questionnaire consisted of respondent backgrounds, his or her use of student-centered teaching methods, and awareness of the school's educational objectives and curricular principles was administered of faculty members at a private medical school in Korea. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were conducted to compare faculty use of student-centered approaches across different backgrounds and awareness of curricular principles. RESULTS: Overall response rate was 70% (N=140/200), approximately 25% (n=34) of whom were using student-centered teaching methods. Distributions in the faculty use of student-centered teaching methods were significantly higher among basic sciences faculty (versus clinical sciences faculty), with teaching experiences of over 10 years (versus less than 10 years), and who were aware of the school's educational objectives and curricular principles. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates differences in medical faculty's practice of student-centered teaching across disciplines, teaching experiences, and their understanding of the school's educational objectives curricular principles. These findings have implications for faculty development and institutional support to better promote faculty use of student-centered teaching approaches.

Ubiquitous testing using tablets: its impact on medical student perceptions of and engagement in learning.

PURPOSE: Ubiquitous testing has the potential to affect medical education by enhancing the authenticity of the assessment using multimedia items. This study explored medical students' experience with ubiquitous testing and its impact on student learning. METHODS: A cohort (n=48) of third-year students at a medical school in South Korea participated in this study. The students were divided into two groups and were given different versions of 10 content-matched items: one in text version (the text group) and the other in multimedia version (the multimedia group). Multimedia items were delivered using tablets. Item response analyses were performed to compare item characteristics between the two versions. Additionally, focus group interviews were held to investigate the students' experiences of ubiquitous testing. RESULTS: The mean test score was significantly higher in the text group. Item difficulty and discrimination did not differ between text and multimedia items. The participants generally showed positive responses on ubiquitous testing. Still, they felt that the lectures that they had taken in preclinical years did not prepare them enough for this type of assessment and clinical encounters during clerkships were more helpful. To be better prepared, the participants felt that they needed to engage more actively in learning in clinical clerkships and have more access to multimedia learning resources. CONCLUSION: Ubiquitous testing can positively affect student learning by reinforcing the importance of being able to understand and apply knowledge in clinical contexts, which drives students to engage more actively in learning in clinical settings.

Comparison of double pants with single pants on satisfaction with colonoscopy.

AIM: To increase satisfaction and diminish anxiety and shame during colonoscopy, we developed novel double pants (NDP) which consist of doubled fabrics with an inner hole. The aim of study was to compare satisfaction, anxiety and shame between NDP and conventional single pants (CSP). METHODS: Total 160 consecutive examinees were randomly divided into NDP and CSP group. Before colonoscopy, questionnaires identifying state and trait anxiety were completed. After colonoscopy, questionnaires for overall satisfaction (Group Health Association of America 9) and pants-specific satisfaction (5-20), state anxiety (20-80), and shame (6-24) were interviewed. RESULTS: Pants-specific satisfaction scores regarding willingness to repeat colonoscopy using same pants (3.3 ± 0.8 vs 2.1 ± 0.9, P < 0.001) and recommendation of same pants to other people (3.3 ± 0.7 vs 2.0 ± 1.0, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in NDP than CSP groups. State anxiety (33.0 ± 7.0 vs 35.4 ± 6.9, P = 0.028) and shame (6.6 ± 1.5 vs 8.1 ± 3.2, P = 0.001) after colonoscopy was lower in NDP group compared with CSP group. CONCLUSION: The NDP contribute to increase satisfaction and decrease anxiety and shame after colonoscopy.

Can medical drama motivate students to have an interest in the healthcare professionalism?

PURPOSE: This study was planned to evaluate that a lecture employing medical drama could motivate students to have an interest in the professionalism of healthcare personnel, which has currently become a critical subject in the field of medical education. METHODS: We analyzed subject headings, learning objectives, and further plans developed by students and their responses after two drama modules, 'car crash' and 'refusal of instruction', which were selected based on the conditions made by our faculty members, were given through video or paper to our 121 second-grade medical and nursing students in year 2012. RESULTS: Meaningful subject headings and learning objectives developed by students were 58.2%~60.0% and 36.8%~38.0% and significantly more in the 'refusal of instruction' than the 'car crash' (p=0.000). According to the students' major, medical students developed significantly more than nursing students (p=0.000). In the analysis of responses, 91.7% of students reported as impressive to the educational modules and 55.3% of them described their ideas associated with healthcare professionalism. CONCLUSION: Our study results suggest a possibility that the educational module employing selected medical drama could motivate students' healthcare professionalism.

Relationship between the Content of the Medical Knowledge Written Examination and Clinical Skill Score in Medical Students.

PURPOSE: This study was planned to investigate which medical knowledge examination score-written examination on basic medicine, individual clinical medicine, and comprehensive clinical medicine-was closely related to clinical skill score in medical students. METHODS: Scores on basic medicine, clinical medicine, graduation assessment, clinical performance examination (CPX), and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for 106 students who graduated Dongguk University Medical School from 2010 to 2011 were included, and correlations between them were analyzed using T scores. RESULTS: All scores of basic medicine, clinical medicine, graduation assessment, CPX, and OSCE correlated significantly with each other. In connection with clinical skill, graduation assessment score showed a strong correlation (r=0.547, p<0.001) with the CPX. Regarding detailed scores on the CPX, history taking score correlated significantly with medical knowledge examination scores (r=0.435~0.406, p<0.001). By regression analysis, the score on graduation assessment was 1 point higher, and that of the CPX increased by 0.538 (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Based on our study, comprehensive clinical knowledge is required for medical students to gain the appropriate clinical skills. Therefore, clinical skill practice and lectures that are based on the level of comprehensive clinical knowledge are recommended in the education of clinical skills in medical students.

Clinical and biological impact of EphA2 overexpression and angiogenesis in endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVE: EphA2 overexpression predicts poor prognosis in endometrial cancer. To explore mechanisms for this association and assess its potential as therapeutic target, the relationship of EphA2 expression to markers of angiogenesis was examined using patient samples and an orthotopic mouse model of uterine cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Expression of EphA2, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), Ki-67, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and microvessel density (MVD) was evaluated using immunohistochemistry in 85 endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinomas (EEC) by two independent investigators. Results were correlated with clinicopathological characteristics. The effect of EphA2- agonist monoclonal antibody EA5, alone or in combination with docetaxel was studied in vitro and in vivo. Samples were analyzed for markers of angiogenesis, proliferation and apoptosis. RESULTS: Of 85 EEC samples, EphA2 was overexpressed in 47% of tumors and was significantly associated with high VEGF expression (p=0.001) and high MVD counts (p=0.02). High EphA2 expression, high VEGF expression and high MVD counts were significantly associated with shorter disease-specific survival. EA5 led to decrease in EphA2 expression and phosphorylation in vitro. In the murine model, while EA5 (33-88%) and docetaxel (23-55%) individually led to tumor inhibition over controls, combination therapy had the greatest efficacy (78-92%, p.

Clinical and biological significance of tissue transglutaminase in ovarian carcinoma.

Tissue type transglutaminase (TG2) is a unique multifunctional protein that plays a role in many steps in the cancer metastatic cascade. Here, we examined the clinical (n = 93 epithelial ovarian cancers) and biological (in vitro adhesion, invasion, and survival and in vivo therapeutic targeting) significance of TG2 in ovarian cancer. The overexpression of TG2 was associated with significantly worse overall patient survival in both univariate and multivariate analyses. Transfection of TG2 into SKOV3ip1 cells promoted attachment and spreading on fibronectin-coated surfaces and increased the in vitro invasive potential of these cells. Conversely, TG2 silencing with small interfering RNA (siRNA) of HeyA8 cells significantly decreased the invasive potential of the cells and also increased docetaxel-induced cell death. In vivo therapy experiments using chemotherapy-sensitive (HeyA8) and chemotherapy-resistant (HeyA8-MDR and RMG2) models showed significant antitumor activity both with TG2 siRNA-1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine alone and in combination with docetaxel chemotherapy. This antitumor activity was related to decreased proliferation and angiogenesis and increased tumor cell apoptosis in vivo. Taken together, these findings indicate that TG2 overexpression is an adverse prognostic factor in ovarian carcinoma and TG2 targeting may be an attractive therapeutic approach.

Radiosensitization by targeting radioresistance-related genes with protein kinase A inhibitor in radioresistant cancer cells.

Here we determined which radiation-responsive genes were altered in radioresistant CEM/IR and FM3A/IR variants, which showed higher resistance to irradiation than parental human leukemia CEM and mouse mammary carcinoma FM3A cells, respectively and studied if radioresistance observed after radiotherapy could be restored by inhibition of protein kinase A. The expressions of DNA-PKcs, Ku70/80, Rad51 and Rad54 genes that related to DNA damage repair, and Bcl-2 and NF-kappaB genes that related to antiapoptosis, were up-regulated, but the expression of proapototic Bax gene was down-regulated in the radioresistant cells as compared to each parental counterpart. We also revealed that the combined treatment of radiation and the inhibitor of protein kinase A (PKA) to these radioresistant cells resulted in synergistic inhibition of DNA-PK, Rad51 and Bcl-2 expressions of the cells, and consequently restored radiosensitivity of the cells. Our results propose that combined treatment with radiotherapy and PKA inhibitor can be a novel therapeutic strategy to radioresistant cancers.