Dataset Information

Structural Competency of Pre-health Students: Can a Single Course Lead to Meaningful Change?

ABSTRACT: Scholars within the medical sciences recently have called on undergraduate educators to incorporate the social sciences in order to teach pre-health students structural competencies - or the ability to articulate how social structures produce racial, ethnic, gender, class, and other disparities - in order to better serve these populations medically. Authors used a semester-long course to assess how experiential learning focused on the topic of structural inequities improves structural competency. In Fall 2018, 27 students completed a hands-on, experiential, course focused on structural factors and health disparities. The authors conducted a mixed-methods, pre-/post-test design to solicit data on students' views on the reasons for high rates of obesity, gender pay disparities, and racial/ethnic housing segregation. Using systematic qualitative data analysis and statistical analysis of coded answers, the authors were able to detect pre-/post-test differences in the number of times students identified structural reasons for the disparities. Statistical analysis showed that students were able to identify an average of 4.63 structural reasons at pre-test, and that increased to 5.93 reasons at post-test (statically significant (p = 0.007)), indicating an increase in structural awareness after participation in the course. Qualitative analysis, using systematic methods of coding and a modified constant comparison method, demonstrated that students' ability to articulate structural reasons for inequality greatly improved. This experiential learning course, while relatively short, was found to increase students' ability to identify structural factors and articulate them with deeper understandings. Future curriculum development should consider incorporating experiential learning to promote structural competency, rather than a more traditional passive, content-delivery method of training.

SUBMITTER: Ruth A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8368733 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundIn the last decade, nursing education has begun to reform to competency-based education worldwide, including in low-and middle-income countries. Case-Based Learning (CBL), an approach to delivering competency-based education, contributes to acquiring critical thinking competency, problem-solving, higher knowledge, professional value and attitude. However, it needs to be taught in a culturally appropriate manner. In Cambodia, CBL was initiated in a classroom and clinical practicum by faculty and preceptors who graduated from the upgrading course. This study examined the factors associated with the competency level of nursing students, explored the practice and perceptions of teaching-learning activities among students, faculty members and preceptors and assessed the coherence of qualitative and quantitative findings.MethodsThis was a convergent, mixed methods study. Data were collected from eight educational institutions for quantitative and qualitative studies and seven hospitals for qualitative studies. From June to September 2019, a cross-sectional survey of nursing students in the third year of the three-year programme (n = 719), eight focus group discussions (FGDs; n = 55) with 6-8 members and 15 FGDs with faculty (n = 38) and clinical preceptors (n = 37) with 4-7 members were conducted to elicit the teaching-learning experience and perceptions. Multiple linear regression was performed to investigate the factors associated with student competency. Moreover, the study conducted thematic content analysis on the qualitative data. The integrated analysis was presented as side-by-side joint displays.ResultsFirst, the quantitative and qualitative findings confirmed each other 's CBL learning experiences. Students had higher levels of nursing competencies if they had CBL experiences, both in the classroom and clinical practicum, both in a group manner. Next, the quantitative and qualitative findings complemented students' academic satisfaction with the teaching by faculty members and preceptors. Finally, the quantitative and qualitative findings were expanded to explain students' academic satisfaction with the programme.ConclusionsThe finding of CBL experiences in a group and students' satisfaction with faculty members' and preceptors' teaching improved nursing students' competency development. Meanwhile, students' satisfaction with the design and delivery of the educational programme provides implications for policy level to narrow the theory and practice gaps in low- and middle-income countries.

Project description:Background: Medical students often have a problem recognising the relevance of basic science subjects for their later professional work in the pre-clinical stage of their studies. This can lead to a lower motivation to learn biochemical content and dissatisfaction in the courses amongst the students. Alternative teaching methods such as the Inverted Classroom (IC) method can address this deficiency. The goal of this study was: to analyse the motivation and satisfaction of the students in a biochemistry seminar through the use of the e-learning-based IC method, to investigate the acceptance against the IC teaching method in biochemistry, and to compare the learning success achieved using the IC approach with that of a traditional course. We also investigated how a biochemistry course in the pre-clinical stage of a human medicine course of studies can be successfully organised according to the IC method. Furthermore, we examined the benefits of the IC method over conventional teaching formats. Method: The IC method was implemented in accordance with the guidelines of the GMA committee "New Media" [30] in a biochemistry seminar for two student IC intervention groups with 42 students. A part of the factual knowledge from the on-site phase in the form of teaching videos together with self-learning control tasks were provided online before the seminar for both IC intervention groups. Exporting content to the self-learning phase creates new free time in the on-site phase, during which the content can be critically considered and processed and additional competency-based learning objectives can be taught. Identical biochemistry teaching content was taught in parallel control groups (14 student groups with n=299 students), but no material was handed out beforehand for a self-learning phase. These students only received the materials after the on-site phase. Motivation and satisfaction as well as the acceptance for the teaching methods were recorded by questionnaires, the acquisition of knowledge by MC exams. Results: On a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree), the students in the IC intervention groups could be seen to be much more motivated (5.53) than students in the control group (4.01). Students in the IC intervention groups also recognised the relevance of the learning content much more clearly (5.44) than students in the control group (4.01). Furthermore, the IC group also observed that additional competencies were trained in addition to the biochemistry content. In addition, the IC intervention group award the event a school grade of 1.53, the traditional control group a grade of 2.96. The teaching videos were rated very positively by both groups with an average school grade of 1.3 in each case. A qualitative analysis showed that the motivation and a positive attitude of the lecturers played a decisive role in the successful implementation of the IC method. Discussion and conclusion: Pre-clinical students display a high acceptance of the e-learning-based IC method. Teaching communication competencies in a biochemistry seminar was also rated very positively by the students. The quality of the teaching video and the motivation of the lecturers were shown to be a critical parameter for the successful performance of the IC method. What's more, the IC method can contribute to implementing a competence orientation in medical studies.

Project description:BackgroundIn Australia, the profession of pharmacy has undergone many changes to adapt to the needs of the community. In recent years, concerns have been raised with evidence emerging of workforce saturation in traditional pharmacy practice sectors. It is not known how current final year pharmacy students' perceive the different pharmacy career paths in this changing environment. Hence investigating students' current experiences with their pharmacy course, interaction with the profession and developing an understanding of their career intentions would be an important step, as these students would make up a large proportion of future pharmacy workforce.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was thus to investigate final year students' career perspectives and the reasons for choosing pharmacy, satisfaction with this choice of pharmacy as a tertiary course and a possible future career, factors affecting satisfaction and intention of future career paths.MethodsA quantitative cross sectional survey of final year students from 3 Australian universities followed by a qualitative semi-structured interview of a convenience sample of final year students from the University of Sydney.Results'Interest in health and medicine' was the most important reason for choosing pharmacy (n=238). The majority of students were 'somewhat satisfied' with the choice of pharmacy (35.7%) as a course and possible future career. Positive associations were found between satisfaction and reasons for joining pharmacy such as 'felt pharmacy is a good profession' (p=0.003) while negative associations included 'joined pharmacy as a gateway to medicine or dentistry' (p=0.001). Quantitate and qualitative results showed the most frequent perception of community pharmacy was 'changing' while hospital and pharmaceutical industry was described as 'competitive' and 'research' respectively. The highest career intention was community followed by hospital pharmacy.ConclusionComplex factors including university experiences are involved in shaping students' satisfaction and perception of career. This may relate to challenges in the community pharmacy sector, job opportunities in hospital and limited understanding of the pharmaceutical industry. The results offer insight for the profession in terms of entry into various roles and also to pharmacy educators for their roles in shaping curricula and placement experiences that attract future graduates to defined career pathways in pharmacy.

Dataset Information

Structural Competency of Pre-health Students: Can a Single Course Lead to Meaningful Change?

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets