Teaching, research or balanced? An exploration of the experiences of biomedical scientists working in UK medical schools

Driven by demand for high standards in university education, efforts have been made in the UK to address the perceived imbalance between teaching and research. However, teaching is still perceived by many as having less credibility and is attributed less importance. The purpose of our research was to explore how distinct types of academic job profiles (‘research’ or ‘education’ focused, or ‘balanced’) impact on biomedical scientists' perceptions of the lecturer role. Specifically, we investigated the experiences of biomedical scientists in ‘post-1990’ medical schools, which are known for their commitment to excellence in both research and education. We conducted 22 face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with biomedical scientists in five schools. Focusing on experiences of work, the interviews covered: ‘motivations’, ‘role expectations’, ‘teaching’, ‘research’ and ‘career’. The recorded qualitative data were transcribed and then analysed thematically. Our results, offering an insight into the working lives of biomedical scientists in medical education, suggest that in settings with a dual emphasis on education and research, individuals on ‘balanced’ contracts can experience a strong pull between research and teaching. In addition to posing significant challenges with respect to workload management, this can impact profoundly on professional identity. In contrast to the balanced role, ‘research’ or ‘education’ focused roles appear to have clearer requirements, leading to higher employee satisfaction. We conclude that to assist the educational mission of Higher Education, attention should be paid to balanced contracts, to (a) ensure employee support, (b) mitigate against negative perceptions of teaching, and ultimately, (c) guard against staff attrition

Prof-in-a-Box: using internet-videoconferencing to assist students in the gross anatomy laboratory

BACKGROUND: The optimal learning environment for gross anatomy is the dissection laboratory. The Prof-in-a-Box (PiB) system has been developed where an anatomist using distance-learning technologies 'helps' students in a dissection laboratory at a different site. METHODS: The PiB system consists of: (1) an anatomist in his/her office with a computer and video camera; (2) a computer and 2 video cameras in the lab; (3) iChat AV software; (4) a secure server to host the PiB-student 'consultation'. The PiB system allows the students and faculty to interact via audio and video providing an environment where questions can be asked and answered and anatomical structures can be identified 'at a distance' in real-time. The PiB system was set up at a prosected cadaver and made available for student use during 'office hours'. RESULTS: 25–30% of the students used the PiB system. Anatomical structures were identified, questions answered and demonstrations given 'at a distance' using the system. Students completed an optional questionnaire about the PiB system at the end of the semester. Results of the questionnaire indicate that the students were enthusiastic about the PiB system and wanted its use to be expanded in the future. CONCLUSION: Many of the functions of a faculty member in the gross anatomy dissection laboratory can be performed 'at a distance' using the PiB system. This suggests that a geographically dispersed faculty could assist in providing instruction in the dissection labs at multiple medical schools without needing to be physically present

Mechanical Systems with Symmetry, Variational Principles, and Integration Algorithms

This paper studies variational principles for mechanical systems with symmetry and their applications to integration algorithms. We recall some general features of how to reduce variational principles in the presence of a symmetry group along with general features of integration algorithms for mechanical systems. Then we describe some integration algorithms based directly on variational principles using a discretization technique of Veselov. The general idea for these variational integrators is to directly discretize Hamilton’s principle rather than the equations of motion in a way that preserves the original systems invariants, notably the symplectic form and, via a discrete version of Noether’s theorem, the momentum map. The resulting mechanical integrators are second-order accurate, implicit, symplectic-momentum algorithms. We apply these integrators to the rigid body and the double spherical pendulum to show that the techniques are competitive with existing integrators

Tree migration-rates : narrowing the gap between inferred post-glacial rates and projected rates

Faster-than-expected post-glacial migration rates of trees have puzzled ecologists for a long time. In Europe, post-glacial migration is assumed to have started from the three southern European peninsulas (southern refugia), where large areas remained free of permafrost and ice at the peak of the last glaciation. However, increasing palaeobotanical evidence for the presence of isolated tree populations in more northerly microrefugia has started to change this perception. Here we use the Northern Eurasian Plant Macrofossil Database and palaeoecological literature to show that post-glacial migration rates for trees may have been substantially lower (60–260 m yr–1) than those estimated by assuming migration from southern refugia only (115–550 m yr–1), and that early-successional trees migrated faster than mid- and late-successional trees. Post-glacial migration rates are in good agreement with those recently projected for the future with a population dynamical forest succession and dispersal model, mainly for early-successional trees and under optimal conditions. Although migration estimates presented here may be conservative because of our assumption of uniform dispersal, tree migration-rates clearly need reconsideration. We suggest that small outlier populations may be a key factor in understanding past migration rates and in predicting potential future range-shifts. The importance of outlier populations in the past may have an analogy in the future, as many tree species have been planted beyond their natural ranges, with a more beneficial microclimate than their regional surroundings. Therefore, climate-change-induced range-shifts in the future might well be influenced by such microrefugia

Using a 3D virtual muscle model to link gene expression changes during myogenesis to protein spatial location in muscle

Background: Myogenesis is an ordered process whereby mononucleated muscle precursor cells (myoblasts) fuse into multinucleated myotubes that eventually differentiate into myofibres, involving substantial changes in gene expression and the organisation of structural components of the cells. To gain further insight into the orchestration of these structural changes we have overlaid the spatial organisation of the protein components of a muscle cell with their gene expression changes during differentiation using a new 3D visualisation tool: the Virtual Muscle 3D (VMus3D)

The educational impact of assessment: a comparison of DOPS and MCQs

Aim: To evaluate the impact of two different assessment formats on the approaches to learning of final year veterinary students. The relationship between approach to learning and examination performance was also investigated. Method: An 18-item version of the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) was sent to 87 final year students. Each student responded to the questionnaire with regards to DOPS (Direct Observation of Procedural Skills) and a Multiple Choice Examination (MCQ). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 of the respondents to gain a deeper insight into the students’ perception of assessment. Results: Students’ adopted a deeper approach to learning for DOPS and a more surface approach with MCQs. There was a positive correlation between an achieving approach to learning and examination performance. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed that deep, surface and achieving approaches were reported by the students and seven major influences on their approaches to learning were identified: motivation, purpose, consequence, acceptability, feedback, time pressure and the individual difference of the students. Conclusions: The format of DOPS has a positive influence on approaches to learning. There is a conflict for students between preparing for final examinations and preparing for clinical practice

Interactive 3D Digital Models for Anatomy and Medical Education

This chapter explores the creation and use of interactive, three-dimensional (3D), digital models for anatomy and medical education. Firstly, it looks back over the history and development of virtual 3D anatomy resources before outlining some of the current means of their creation; including photogrammetry, CT and surface scanning, and digital modelling, outlining advantages and disadvantages for each. Various means of distribution are explored, including; virtual learning environments, websites, interactive PDF’s, virtual and augmented reality, bespoke applications, and 3D printing, with a particular focus on the level of interactivity each method offers. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the use of such models for education is discussed. Questions addressed include; How can such models best be used to enhance student learning? How can they be used in the classroom? How can they be used for selfdirected study? As well as exploring if they could one day replace human specimens, and how they complement the rise of online and e-learning

Thinking outside the curve, part I: modeling birthweight distribution

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Greater epidemiologic understanding of the relationships among fetal-infant mortality and its prognostic factors, including birthweight, could have vast public health implications. A key step toward that understanding is a realistic and tractable framework for analyzing birthweight distributions and fetal-infant mortality. The present paper is the first of a two-part series that introduces such a framework.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We propose describing a birthweight distribution via a normal mixture model in which the number of components is determined from the data using a model selection criterion rather than fixed <it>a priori</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We address a number of methodological issues, including how the number of components selected depends on the sample size, how the choice of model selection criterion influences the results, and how estimates of mixture model parameters based on multiple samples from the same population can be combined to produce confidence intervals. As an illustration, we find that a 4-component normal mixture model reasonably describes the birthweight distribution for a population of white singleton infants born to heavily smoking mothers. We also compare this 4-component normal mixture model to two competitors from the existing literature: a contaminated normal model and a 2-component normal mixture model. In a second illustration, we discover that a 6-component normal mixture model may be more appropriate than a 4-component normal mixture model for a general population of black singletons.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The framework developed in this paper avoids assuming the existence of an interval of birthweights over which there are no compromised pregnancies and does not constrain birthweights within compromised pregnancies to be normally distributed. Thus, the present framework can reveal heterogeneity in birthweight that is undetectable via a contaminated normal model or a 2-component normal mixture model.</p