Dataset Information

Student feedback about the use of role plays in Sparshanam, a medical humanities module.

ABSTRACT:

Background

At KIST Medical College, Lalitpur, Nepal, a Medical Humanities module for first year medical students has been conducted. Role plays are used to explore social, medical and sexual issues in the Nepalese context. The present study obtained student feedback about the role plays used in the module, the difficulties faced, and obtained suggestions for further improvement.

Method

The module was conducted from January to August 2011 using a total of 15 role plays. Student feedback was obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire. Informal discussions were held and a questionnaire was circulated among the first year students who had participated in the module.

Results

Ninety-eight of the 100 students in the module participated in the study. The overall opinion regarding the role plays was positive. Students stated role plays helped to make module objectives concrete and interesting, made students identify with the problem being investigated and improved communication skills. Role plays were designed to address important health issues in Nepal and prepare students for addressing these issues in future practice. A lack of sufficient time for preparing the role plays and initial problems with group dynamics were mentioned by the respondents during the study.

Conclusions

Student feedback about the use of role plays during the module was positive. Role plays helped in making module objectives more concrete and interesting, improved communication skills and addressed important health issues in Nepal. Role plays are not resource intensive and can be considered for use in medical schools in developing nations.

SUBMITTER: Shankar PR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3752645 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Student feedback about the use of role plays in Sparshanam, a medical humanities module.

Shankar P Ravi PR Piryani Rano M RM Singh Kundan K KK Karki Bal Man S BM

F1000Research 20121213

<h4>Background</h4>At KIST Medical College, Lalitpur, Nepal, a Medical Humanities module for first year medical students has been conducted. Role plays are used to explore social, medical and sexual issues in the Nepalese context. The present study obtained student feedback about the role plays used in the module, the difficulties faced, and obtained suggestions for further improvement.<h4>Method</h4>The module was conducted from January to August 2011 using a total of 15 role plays. Student fee ...[more]

PMID: 24358816

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Project description:BackgroundDoctors' empathy: the understanding of patients' experiences, concerns and perspectives, is highly valued by patients yet often lacking in patient care. Medical Humanities has been introduced within undergraduate curriculum to address this lack in empathy. There is a paucity of research on the impact of a course on medical humanities on the empathy of medical students, particularly in South Asia. Here we report on the impact of such an intervention in first-year medical students and aim to help outcome-based medical education and the evaluation and promotion of humanities within medical courses.MethodsThis study is a quantitative evaluation of student empathy before and after a Medical Humanities Module. The study employs the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student version (JSE-S). Participants were first-year medical students at Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Nepal. All cohort students were invited to participate and written consent was obtained. Data were collected both prior-to and on-completion-of, a six-week Medical Humanities Module. Pre- and post-module data were analyzed and the resulting empathy scores compared using the paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Subgroup analysis was undertaken to determine the association of the score with gender and preferred future speciality.ResultsSixty-two student responses were analyzed, 32 (52%) of whom were male. In the pre-module scores females had a slightly higher mean score than males:108 and 103 respectively. Participants who preferred people-oriented specialities also scored higher than those preferring procedure and technology-oriented specialities: 107 and 103 respectively. There was a significant increase in mean score for the entire class from pre-module to post-module: 105 to 116, p-value of < 0.001. Mean scores rose from 103 to 116 in males, and from 108 to 116 in females. Participants preferring procedure and technology-oriented specialities showed a significant increase in mean scores:103 to 117, and participants preferring people-oriented specialities demonstrated a smaller increase:107 to 111.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence of the impact of a Medical Humanities course for increasing medical student empathy scores at an institution in Nepal. Teaching of Medical Humanities is an important contributor to the development of empathy in medical students and its widespread expansion in the whole of South Asia should be considered.

Dataset Information

Student feedback about the use of role plays in Sparshanam, a medical humanities module.

Background

Method

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Student feedback about the use of role plays in Sparshanam, a medical humanities module.

Similar Datasets

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