Student evaluation of individual teachers is important in the quality improvement cycle. The aim ... more Student evaluation of individual teachers is important in the quality improvement cycle. The aim of this study was to explore medical student and faculty perceptions of teacher evaluation in the light of dwindling participation in online evaluations.
While problem-based learning (PBL) has been widely implemented in medical education, it has been ... more While problem-based learning (PBL) has been widely implemented in medical education, it has been acknowledged to be resource-intensive, particularly in terms of academics' time. In some institutions, such as Bond University (Australia), casual facilitators have been employed (paid hourly) to oversee the PBL tutorials. Apart from considerable experience as PBL facilitators, they also have expertise as allied health professionals or biomedical scientists. Several facilitators have educational qualifications. Recognising that their roles have expanded beyond the PBL tutorial room, we canvassed PBL facilitators in terms of their contributions to Bond University's medical programme. We can report that our facilitators have contributed to the renewal of Bond's medical programme, from design (e.g. curriculum structure, case-writing) to PBL case reviews. They are also involved in formative and summative assessment. Facilitators identified that, because of their prolonged involve...
Three questions are considered in the context of the possible effects of seed-associated mycoflor... more Three questions are considered in the context of the possible effects of seed-associated mycoflora, typified by Fusarium moniliforme, during hydrated storage of recalcitrant propagules of the tropical species, Avicennia marina. These pertain to storage lifespan, whether seed susceptibility to fungal attack changes and the possibility of discriminating ultrastructurally between inherent deteriorative changes and those that are fungallyinduced. The data indicate unequivocally that if fungal activity is curtailed, then the hydrated storage lifespan of A. marina seeds can be considerably extended. When inoculated immediately with F. moniliforme, newly harvested seeds were extremely susceptible to the adverse effects of the fungus, while seeds that had been wet-stored for 4 d showed a considerably heightened resilience to the effects of the fungus when inoculated at that stage. The enhanced resilience, although declining, persisted in seeds stored hydrated for up to 10 d prior to inocula...
Introduction: Critical thinking skills are important outcomes of many curricula as they are gradu... more Introduction: Critical thinking skills are important outcomes of many curricula as they are graduate attributes which are highly valued by employers. This is particularly important within health science programmes. Teaching critical thinking does not provide students with an obvious product to take when they leave the learning activity. Instead, its development requires each student to reflect, reason, interpret and comprehend. Critical thinking skills, like many other skills, take time to develop and one of the aims of teaching it across the sciences is to create an awareness of the transferability of critical thinking skills to their future careers. In our role as educators in various health science courses, including medicine, we have had the opportunity to review the expected learning and professional outcomes of each course and tailor our teaching accordingly. Purpose: This presentation will provide some insight into the various critical thinking considerations required across ...
Today's medical stude... more Today's medical students (tomorrow's doctors) will be entering a world of conflict, war and regular outbreaks of infectious diseases. Despite numerous international declarations and treaties protecting human rights, the last few decades has been fraught with reports of "lapses" in medical professionalism involving torture and force-feeding of detainees (e.g. captured during the War on Terror) and health care professionals refusing to treat infected patients (e.g. HIV and Ebola). This paper provides some historical background to the changing status of a physician's duty to treat and how medical practitioners came to be involved in the inhumane treatment of detainees during the War on Terror, culminating in reports of "lapses" in professionalism. The Theory of Planned Behavior, which takes into account the individual, the environment and the social context, is used to explain the factors that might influence an individual's behavior in challenging situations. The paper concludes with some recommendations for medical and health professions education. The recommendations include selecting students who, as a minimum, can provide evidence of "basic" professionalism, engaging them in exploring the history of the medical profession, exposing them to contexts of uncertainty and moral dilemmas and challenging them to reflect on their responses.
AIMS While there is a reasonable body of literature on medical students’ professional identity fo... more AIMS While there is a reasonable body of literature on medical students’ professional identity formation, the focus has been largely from their perspective. On their journey to “becoming” doctors, medical students interact with teachers and trainers from varying professions, all of whom will perceive their professional development from different standpoints. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an insight of professional identity formation from different teachers and trainers with whom students interact at different times of their medical studies. Methods This phenomenological study was conducted at an Australian university offering an undergraduate medical programme. Professional identity formation was explored from the perspective of students across the five-year curriculum as well from the perspective of their teachers and trainers, who included registered nurses, clinical tutors, academic faculty, problem-based learning facilitators and simulated patients (SPs). Sem...
Student evaluation of individual teachers is important in the quality improvement cycle. The aim ... more Student evaluation of individual teachers is important in the quality improvement cycle. The aim of this study was to explore medical student and faculty perceptions of teacher evaluation in the light of dwindling participation in online evaluations.
While problem-based learning (PBL) has been widely implemented in medical education, it has been ... more While problem-based learning (PBL) has been widely implemented in medical education, it has been acknowledged to be resource-intensive, particularly in terms of academics' time. In some institutions, such as Bond University (Australia), casual facilitators have been employed (paid hourly) to oversee the PBL tutorials. Apart from considerable experience as PBL facilitators, they also have expertise as allied health professionals or biomedical scientists. Several facilitators have educational qualifications. Recognising that their roles have expanded beyond the PBL tutorial room, we canvassed PBL facilitators in terms of their contributions to Bond University's medical programme. We can report that our facilitators have contributed to the renewal of Bond's medical programme, from design (e.g. curriculum structure, case-writing) to PBL case reviews. They are also involved in formative and summative assessment. Facilitators identified that, because of their prolonged involve...
Three questions are considered in the context of the possible effects of seed-associated mycoflor... more Three questions are considered in the context of the possible effects of seed-associated mycoflora, typified by Fusarium moniliforme, during hydrated storage of recalcitrant propagules of the tropical species, Avicennia marina. These pertain to storage lifespan, whether seed susceptibility to fungal attack changes and the possibility of discriminating ultrastructurally between inherent deteriorative changes and those that are fungallyinduced. The data indicate unequivocally that if fungal activity is curtailed, then the hydrated storage lifespan of A. marina seeds can be considerably extended. When inoculated immediately with F. moniliforme, newly harvested seeds were extremely susceptible to the adverse effects of the fungus, while seeds that had been wet-stored for 4 d showed a considerably heightened resilience to the effects of the fungus when inoculated at that stage. The enhanced resilience, although declining, persisted in seeds stored hydrated for up to 10 d prior to inocula...
Introduction: Critical thinking skills are important outcomes of many curricula as they are gradu... more Introduction: Critical thinking skills are important outcomes of many curricula as they are graduate attributes which are highly valued by employers. This is particularly important within health science programmes. Teaching critical thinking does not provide students with an obvious product to take when they leave the learning activity. Instead, its development requires each student to reflect, reason, interpret and comprehend. Critical thinking skills, like many other skills, take time to develop and one of the aims of teaching it across the sciences is to create an awareness of the transferability of critical thinking skills to their future careers. In our role as educators in various health science courses, including medicine, we have had the opportunity to review the expected learning and professional outcomes of each course and tailor our teaching accordingly. Purpose: This presentation will provide some insight into the various critical thinking considerations required across ...
Today's medical stude... more Today's medical students (tomorrow's doctors) will be entering a world of conflict, war and regular outbreaks of infectious diseases. Despite numerous international declarations and treaties protecting human rights, the last few decades has been fraught with reports of "lapses" in medical professionalism involving torture and force-feeding of detainees (e.g. captured during the War on Terror) and health care professionals refusing to treat infected patients (e.g. HIV and Ebola). This paper provides some historical background to the changing status of a physician's duty to treat and how medical practitioners came to be involved in the inhumane treatment of detainees during the War on Terror, culminating in reports of "lapses" in professionalism. The Theory of Planned Behavior, which takes into account the individual, the environment and the social context, is used to explain the factors that might influence an individual's behavior in challenging situations. The paper concludes with some recommendations for medical and health professions education. The recommendations include selecting students who, as a minimum, can provide evidence of "basic" professionalism, engaging them in exploring the history of the medical profession, exposing them to contexts of uncertainty and moral dilemmas and challenging them to reflect on their responses.
AIMS While there is a reasonable body of literature on medical students’ professional identity fo... more AIMS While there is a reasonable body of literature on medical students’ professional identity formation, the focus has been largely from their perspective. On their journey to “becoming” doctors, medical students interact with teachers and trainers from varying professions, all of whom will perceive their professional development from different standpoints. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an insight of professional identity formation from different teachers and trainers with whom students interact at different times of their medical studies. Methods This phenomenological study was conducted at an Australian university offering an undergraduate medical programme. Professional identity formation was explored from the perspective of students across the five-year curriculum as well from the perspective of their teachers and trainers, who included registered nurses, clinical tutors, academic faculty, problem-based learning facilitators and simulated patients (SPs). Sem...
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