Invited commentary on Stewart and Davis " 'Big data' in mental health research-current status and emerging possibilities"

No abstract available

Nurturing empathy and compassion: what might the neurosciences have to offer?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Erasmus Mundus Master of Bioethics: a case for an effective model for international bioethics education

Designing bioethics curriculum for international postgraduate students is a challenging task. There are at least two main questions, which have to be resolved in advance: (1) what is a purpose of a particular teaching program and (2) how to respectfully arrange a classroom for students coming from different cultural and professional backgrounds. In our paper we analyze the case of the Erasmus Mundus Master of Bioethics program and provide recommendations for international bioethics education. In our opinion teaching bioethics to postgraduate international students goes beyond curriculum. It means that such a program requires not only well-defined goals, including equipping students with necessary skills and knowledge, but also it should first and foremost facilitate positive group dynamics among students and enables them to engage in dialogue to learn from one another

Identity change and the human dissection experience over the first year of medical training

The aim of this study is to explore identity change in medical students over their first year of medical training, particularly in relation to their experience of human dissection. Each of our four participants completed two repertory grids at the end of term one and, again, towards the end of term three. One grid tapped their identity construction, and the other, their experience of human dissection. Our participants were optimistic about becoming similar to a doctor they admired and, towards the end of term three, began to develop a stable identity as a medical student. Their identity constructs involved three common themes: dedication, competence, and responsibility. However, the data also revealed negative reactions to the demands of training, such as feeling driven and stressed. Three major themes were apparent in their experience of human dissection: involvement, emotional coping, and ability. Our participants’ dedication to their studies was reflected in their appreciation of the need to become involved actively in the process of dissection but some experienced an erosion of their self-confidence and perceived some of their colleagues to have lost much of their enthusiasm for learning. Emotional coping could be an additional challenge within this context and their reaction tended to reflect distancing processes previously identified in the literature. In all, we see a development of a vulnerable sense of professionalism alongside a frustration of losing out potentially on wider aspects of personal development due to the high work demands

The Hidden Curriculum of Veterinary Education: Mediators and Moderators of Its Effects

The “hidden curriculum” has long been supposed to have an effect on students' learning during their clinical education, and in particular in shaping their ideas of what it means to be a professional. Despite this, there has been little evidence linking specific changes in professional attitudes to the individual components of the hidden curriculum. This study aimed to recognize those components that led to a change in students' professional attitudes at a UK veterinary school, as well as to identify the attitudes most affected. Observations were made of 11 student groups across five clinical rotations, followed by semi-structured interviews with 23 students at the end of their rotation experience. Data were combined and analyzed thematically, taking both an inductive and deductive approach. Views about the importance of technical competence and communication skills were promoted as a result of students' interaction with the hidden curriculum, and tensions were revealed in relation to their attitudes toward compassion and empathy, autonomy and responsibility, and lifestyle ethic. The assessment processes of rotations and the clinical service organization served to communicate the messages of the hidden curriculum, bringing about changes in student professional attitudes, while student-selected role models and the student rotation groups moderated the effects of these influences

Embedding an evidence-led, best-practice culture of engagement: learning from the evidence

Public engagement is key for making better quality decisions for more sustainable outcomes. Through effective and inclusive engagement, we can work to empower voices which are often marginalised in scientific and policy decision-making and access the evidence we need to understand what works. This review provides the evidence behind what engagement is and why it is important, what the benefits are, the potential risks of ‘poor’ engagement and how to mitigate them, how different ‘types’ of engagement can provide useful classifications for practitioners, and how practitioners can use theory (different ways of thinking and knowing) to inform best practice. This includes consideration of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on how we engage in an increasingly digitised world. This report outlines how the available evidence can be used to inform the creation of an evidence-led, best-practice engagement culture. It outlines a series of recommendations which consider engagement strategies, frameworks, standards, models, methods, toolkits (and so forth). One central message in this review is that ‘best practice’ engagement and its outcomes will vary between different situations. Practitioners should recognise that the quality of the process and outcomes will change depending on the purpose and objectives for engaging, as well as organisational cultures of engagement, institutional capacity, wider socio-economic and political contexts, and the characteristics of participants

The integrated anatomy practical paper: a robust assessment method for anatomy education today

Assessing anatomy in a way that tests higher cognitive domains and clinical application is not always straightforward. The old "spotter" examination has been criticized for only testing low level "identify" knowledge, whereas other assessment modalities such as multiple choice questions do not reflect the three dimensional and application nature of clinical anatomy. Medical curricula are frequently integrated and subject specific examinations do not reflect the case based, spiral, integrative nature of the curricula. The integrated anatomy practical paper (IAPP) is a hybrid of the old "spotter" and an objective structured clinical examination but it demonstrates how higher levels of taxonomy can be assessed, together with clinical features and integrates well with other disciplines. Importantly, the IAPP has shown to be reliable and practical to administer. Data gathered from the Bachelor of Medicine five-year program over two academic years for four IAPP examinations, each being 40 minutes with (K = 60 items) based on 440 students revealed consistently strong reliability coefficients (Cronbach alpha) of up to 0.923. Applying Blooms taxonomy to questions has shown a marked shift resulting in an increase in the complexity level being tested; between 2009 and 2013 a reduction of 26% in the number of low level "remember knowledge" domain questions was noted with up to an increase of 15% in "understanding" domain and 12% increase in the "applying" knowledge domain. Our findings highlight that it is possible to test, based in a laboratory, anatomy knowledge and application that is integrated and fit for practice. Anat Sci Educ. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists

The formation of professional identity in medical students: considerations for educators

<b>Context</b> Medical education is about more than acquiring an appropriate level of knowledge and developing relevant skills. To practice medicine students need to develop a professional identity – ways of being and relating in professional contexts.<p></p> <b>Objectives</b> This article conceptualises the processes underlying the formation and maintenance of medical students’ professional identity drawing on concepts from social psychology.<p></p> <b>Implications</b> A multi-dimensional model of identity and identity formation, along with the concepts of identity capital and multiple identities, are presented. The implications for educators are discussed.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Identity formation is mainly social and relational in nature. Educators, and the wider medical society, need to utilise and maximise the opportunities that exist in the various relational settings students experience. Education in its broadest sense is about the transformation of the self into new ways of thinking and relating. Helping students form, and successfully integrate their professional selves into their multiple identities, is a fundamental of medical education

A model of professional self-identity formation in student doctors and dentists: a mixed method study.

BACKGROUND: Professional self-identity [PSI] can be defined as the degree to which an individual identifies with his or her professional group. Several authors have called for a better understanding of the processes by which healthcare students develop their professional identities, and suggested helpful theoretical frameworks borrowed from the social science and psychology literature. However to our knowledge, there has been little empirical work examining these processes in actual healthcare students, and we are aware of no data driven description of PSI development in healthcare students. Here, we report a data driven model of PSI formation in healthcare students. METHODS: We interviewed 17 student doctors and dentists who had indicated, on a tracking questionnaire, the most substantial changes in their PSI. We analysed their perceptions of the experiences that had influenced their PSI, to develop a descriptive model. Both the primary coder and the secondary coder considered the data without reference to the existing literature; i.e. we used a bottom up approach rather than a top down approach. RESULTS: The results indicate that two overlapping frames of reference affect PSI formation: the students' self-perception and their perception of the professional role. They are 'learning' both; neither is static. Underpinning those two learning processes, the following key mechanisms operated: [1] When students are allowed to participate in the professional role they learn by trying out their knowledge and skill in the real world and finding out to what extent they work, and by trying to visualise themselves in the role. [2] When others acknowledge students as quasi-professionals they experience transference and may respond with counter-transference by changing to meet expectations or fulfil a prototype. [3] Students may also dry-run their professional role (i.e., independent practice of professional activities) in a safe setting when invited. CONCLUSIONS: Students' experiences, and their perceptions of those experiences, can be evaluated through a simple model that describes and organises the influences and mechanisms affecting PSI. This empirical model is discussed in the light of prevalent frameworks from the social science and psychology literature