Interns' perceptions on medical ethics education and ethical issues at the Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine in Turkey

Aim: In Turkey and its neighboring countries, few studies have investigated medical students' reactions to ethics education and ethical issues they encounter. The aim of this study was to investigate interns' perceptions of medical ethics education and ethical issues. Background: In students' first three years at the Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine, various teaching methods are used in ethics education, including problem-based learning, interactive lectures and movies. During the clinical years, the curriculum helps students consider the ethical dimension of their clinical work, and during the internship period a discussion on ethical issues is held. Material and methods: Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to interns in the 2005-2006 academic year. Its questions asked about interns' perceived adequacy of their ethics education, any interpersonal ethical problems they had witnessed, their approaches to ethical problems, obstacles they believe prevented them from resolving ethical problems and whether they felt themselves ready to deal with ethical problems. 67.2 % of interns were reached and all of them responded. Results: In the assessment of the adequacy of ethics education, the most favorable score was given to educators. Students' most often mentioned ethical problems encountered were between physicians and students and between physicians and patients. Interns believed that difficult personalities on the team and team hierarchy were important obstacles to resolving ethical problems. There were significant differences between the approaches students currently used in dealing with ethical problems and how they anticipated they would approach these problems in their future professional lives. Conclusion: We obtained information about students' perceptions about ethics education and ethical problems which helped us to plan other educational activities. This study may assist other medical schools in preparing an ethics curriculum or help evaluate an existing curriculum. © S Ozan, S Timbil, S Semin, B Musal, 2010

An example of program evaluation project in undergraduate medical education

Revisions to existing program evaluation approaches of the Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine (DEUSM) were made by the Medical Education Department in June 2005. After considering several evaluation models, a mixed evaluation model was developed to meet institutional needs. The general program evaluation plan was structured as areas of inquiry under the three main program evaluation questions: what are the effects of the educational program on students and graduates, what are the effects of the educational program on trainers, and is the educational program being implemented as planned. The School's first report made through its new program evaluation approach was prepared in July 2006, leading to important revisions to the educational program. This article presents DEUSM's project to revise its program evaluation approach and briefly discusses its early implementation. © B Musal, C Taskiran, Y Gursel, S Ozan, S Timbil, S Velipasaoglu, 2008

First graduates' perceptions on a problem-based and task-based learning curriculum

Introduction: Determination of graduates' perceptions and suggestions is essential in the evaluation of educational programmes. Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine (DEUSM), the country's first medical school implementing a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Task-Based Learning (TBL) programme, graduated the first students of its new educational programme starting from the 2002-2003 academic year. The aim of the present study is to determine first graduates' perceptions on their self-efficacy and school's educational programme's efficacy. Methods: In June 2003, 51 graduating students were asked to use five-point scales to evaluate: the content of the educational programme, the educational methods, communication with educators, assessment methods and instruments, the efficacy of each year of their undergraduate programme and the overall program, their satisfaction levels about educational programme regarding the acquisition of knowledge and skills, their self-efficacy and contentment level of being a physician. Results: In the content of educational programme, the highest score was attributed to "acquisition of behavioural objectives" and the lowest score to "acquisition of basic science knowledge". Regarding the efficacy of educational programme, the highest score was attributed to "communication with educators". The highest scores regarding the satisfaction levels on the acquisition of knowledge and skills provided by the School were attributed to "implementing basic professional procedures" and "history taking" and the lowest score to "selecting appropriate treatment". Conclusion: The graduating students' mainly positive evaluations regarding the efficacy of DEUSM's new educational programme were considered as supportive reflections on the new educational programme. Further studies to monitor our graduates' future professional performances are being envisaged. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd

Investigation of hepatoprotective effect of some algae species on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in rats

The aim of this study was to investigate hepatoprotective effect of some algae species such as Spirulina platensis, Chlorella vulgaris, Laminaria japonica, Sargassum sp. on experimental acute hepatotoxicity model that induced with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats. Algaes at a dose of 200 mg/kg and Silymarin at a dose of 25 mg/kg were orally administered for 7 days followed by CCl4 at a single dose (0.5 ml/kg), at the 8th day to cause experimental acute hepatotoxicity. Levels of biochemical (AST, ALT etc.), lipid peroxidation (MDA), antioxidant (GSH, CAT, GPx) parameters and histopathological examination were carried out to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of algae. In Sp group ALT and ALP levels were significantly decreased compared with CCl4 (p <.05). Histological liver structures of Sp group were similar to the control group. MDA, GPx and CAT levels of Sp and La groups were significantly different compared with CCl4 (p <.05). Based on these results, algae species able to minimise the toxic effects of CCl4 and especially S. platensis could be used in the purpose of protection against chemical-induced hepatotoxicity. © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Mustafa Kemal ÜniversitesiThis work was financially supported by Scientific Research Projects Coordination of Mustafa Kemal University (Project no:14660)