Evidence of gender bias in True-False-Abstain medical examinations

Background: There is evidence that males and females differ in their attainment on a variety of assessments in general and in medical education. It has been suggested that the True-False-Abstain (TFA) format with negative marking is biased against females. Methods: Eight years worth of examination data from the first two years of an undergraduate medical curriculum was analysed. 359 courses were evaluated for statistically significant differences between the genders using ANOVA. Logistic regression was used to test if subject area, calendar year or exam format predicted that males or females do better (termed male advantage or female advantage). Results: Statistically significant differences between the genders were found in 111 (31%) of assessments with females doing better than males in 85 and males better in 26. Female advantage was associated with a particular year (2001), the Personal and Professional Development strand of the curriculum, in course assessment and short answer questions. Male advantage was associated with the anatomy and physiology strand of the curriculum and examinations containing TFA formats, where the largest gender difference was noted. Males were 16.7 times more likely than females to do better on an assessment if it contained any questions using the TFA format. Conclusions: Although a range of statistically significant gender differences was found, they were concentrated in TFA and short answer formats. The largest effect was for TFA formats where males were much more likely to do better than females. The gender bias of TFA assessments in medical education is yet another reason why caution should be exercised in their use.</p

Empathy in Iranian medical students: A preliminary psychometric analysis and differences by gender and year of medical school

Background: It has been well documented that effective empathic communication in the context of patient care is associated with improved health care outcomes. However, the emphasis given to empathy in medical education in Iran is limited, and the state of such teaching is unknown in many countries. Aims: To determine the psychometric properties of an Iranian translation of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) among medical students, and to examine the differences on mean empathy scores by gender and the different years of medical school. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students. Data analysis was based on 181 questionnaires. Principal component analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation was used to identify the number and composition of components constituting the developed constructs. Results: The PCA yielded three factors: Compassionate care, perspective-taking, and the ability to walk in the patient's shoes. No statistically significant differences in the empathy means scores were found by gender and the different years of medical school. Conclusions: The Persian version of JSPE is a psychometrically sound instrument to measure empathy. Cultural backgrounds and pedagogical practice may influence medical students' attitudes towards empathy. Some recommendations are made, and the study limitations are discussed

Enseñanza en pequeños grupos en Educación Superior : tutorías, seminarios y otros agrupamientos

Guía dirigida a profesores que se inician en la práctica pedagógica en la Universidad. Se desvelan preguntas cómo el por qué tienen que ser tan diferentes los estilos de Enseñanza en Pequeños Grupos (EPG) de los utilizados en las clases convencionales y cómo ha de adaptarse el estilo docente del profesor. Los contenidos nucleares de la Enseñanza en Pequeños Grupos son: 1.Fundamento y dinámica subyacentes de la EPG. 2.Función y destrezas de un tutor eficaz. 3.Métodos y técnicas. 4.Orientaciones sobre el Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP), clases dirigidas por estudiantes y clases sin tutor. 5.Consejos actualizados sobre la práctica inclusiva y no discriminatoria. 6.Revisión de criterios y métodos de evaluación. Además, se recogen una serie de consejos y ejemplos prácticos procedentes de distintas disciplinas y teorías educativas.MadridBiblioteca de Educación del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Calle San Agustín 5 -3 Planta; 28014 Madrid; Tel. +34917748000; [email protected]

Psychometric properties and confirmatory factor analysis of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy

Abstract Background Empathy towards patients is considered to be associated with improved health outcomes. Many scales have been developed to measure empathy in health care professionals and students. The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) has been widely used. This study was designed to examine the psychometric properties and the theoretical structure of the JSPE. Methods A total of 853 medical students responded to the JSPE questionnaire. A hypothetical model was evaluated by structural equation modelling to determine the adequacy of goodness-of-fit to sample data. Results The model showed excellent goodness-of-fit. Further analysis showed that the hypothesised three-factor model of the JSPE structure fits well across the gender differences of medical students. Conclusions The results supported scale multi-dimensionality. The 20 item JSPE provides a valid and reliable scale to measure empathy among not only undergraduate and graduate medical education programmes, but also practising doctors. The limitations of the study are discussed and some recommendations are made for future practice.</p