Patients’ impact on the hidden curriculum of medical students a qualitative study on undergraduate medical students

Aim: To explore and understand professional practice development through medical students’ observation of patient’s responses towards the medical students, illness, and hospital staff. Methodology: Semi-structured focused group discussions were conducted between 3rd September 2019 and 3rd May 2020 using non-probability purposive sampling. Three focused groups were conducted with fourth year medical students (n=19) to discuss about their third-year clinical placement experience. The focused group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis framework to label the concepts, attached code to the data, and the codes were subsequently grouped into similar themes. Themes that emerged from the interpretation of the coded data were identified. Results: Four main themes emerged from the focus groups: (1) Student’s observation on patient’s responses towards students, illness, and staff; (2) Patient’s perspectives towards students; (3) Students were affected by the experience; and (4) Factors influencing patient’s responses to students, illness, and staff. The impact of patient’s behaviour has influenced students’ professional practice in two ways. The first impact is collaboration of students’ observation during clinical placement with what has been learned through the written curriculum. The second impact is through a hidden curriculum. Conclusions: The hidden curriculum has influenced our students’ learning through observation of new aspects and implementation of the learned written curriculum. Students can aspire medical educators, doctors, and medical staff to adopt approaches and attitudes that have a positive impact on students’ professional practice and to acknowledge that they are the role models for the new generation’s learning through the hidden curriculum

The Effect of Clinical Case Presentation Framework Session on Improving Quality and Reducing the Duration of Clinical Case Presentation

Abstract: It is to enhance medical students’ clinical case presentation quality whilst reducing its duration by using the clinical case presentation framework. This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted on third year medical students in Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) between 9th January and 5th July 2019. Twenty-three third year medical students participated in the study during their Obstetrics and Gynaecology rotation. Each of the participants prepared a case presentation to be presented to the audience. The quality scoring was explained to the students and each presentation was timed using stopwatch. Thereafter, feedback and score were given to the presenter after the case presentation. The clinical case presentation framework session was taught, and students were given time to re-do their presentation. Cases were presented again, timed and scored. The changes in presentation timing and quality score were analyzed using SPSS to estimate the effect of the session on the student’s clinical case presentation skills. The study shown significant reduction in presentation time from 3.13 minutes to 1.23 minutes after having the session and used the clinical case presentation framework (mean difference 1.9, 95% CI = 1.4–2.5). Out of 10 of the total score, the presentation scores also shown statistically significant improvement in quality of the presentation from 5.61 to 8.87 for pre-session and post-session, respectively, upon using the presentation framework (mean difference 3.3, 95% CI = 2.6–3.9). The framework can improve time and quality of clinical case presentation