Are clinicians being prepared to care for abused women? A survey of health professional education in Ontario, Canada

Background: The current project undertook a province-wide survey and environmental scan of educational opportunities available to future health care providers on the topic of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. Methods: A team of experts identified university and college programs in Ontario, Canada as potential providers of IPV education to students in health care professions at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. A telephone survey with contacts representing these programs was conducted between October 2005 and March 2006. The survey asked whether IPV-specific education was provided to learners, and if so, how and by whom. Results: In total, 222 eligible programs in dentistry, medicine, nursing and other allied health professions were surveyed, and 95% (212/222) of programs responded. Of these, 57% reported offering some form of IPV-specific education, with undergraduate nursing (83%) and allied health (82%) programs having the highest rates. Fewer than half of undergraduate medical (43%) and dentistry (46%) programs offered IPV content. Postgraduate programs ranged from no IPV content provision (dentistry) to 41% offering content (nursing). Conclusion: Significant variability exists across program areas regarding the methods for IPV education, its delivery and evaluation. The results of this project highlight that expectations for an active and consistent response by health care professionals to women experiencing the effects of violence may not match the realities of professional preparation

Medical Student Use of Online Lectures: Exam Performance, Learning Styles, Achievement Motivation and Gender

Content delivery in the basic science curriculum is increasingly accomplished by lectures delivered online. The factors which draw some students to use online resources more than others are beginning to be explored. This project examined the relationship between entering medical students‘ online lecture use, exam performance, learning styles, achievement motive and gender. We assessed learning style preference, using the VARK measure, and achievement motive, using the Achievement Motive Scale, then analyzed their online lecture use in our gross anatomy course. Exam scores for males were significantly higher than those of females and a gender effect was apparent (ANOVA) with male use higher than female. Students with higher scores for visual learning viewed lectures more than students with other preferences. There was an effect of Achievement Motive on lecture usage. Students highly motivated to achieve success are also more likely to use lectures. There was no difference in use between students with high or low motivation to avoid failure. Overall, there was a distinct temporal pattern of lecture use by day of the week or by time of day and differences between genders in use by days of the week. We also found a significant effect of success motivation on the temporal pattern of use. Findings of our study suggest a relationship between students\u27 learning style, motivation and their online lecture use