Evaluation of the postgraduate course “Medical Research Methodology” of the Aristotle University Medical School, 5 years after its launching

Introduction: Evaluation in education is used as a necessary procedure in order to readdress educational policy in curriculum, teaching, learning or examinations.Aims: The aim of this paper is to describe and critically analyse the evaluation process of the postgraduate course “Medical Research Methodology” of the Aristotle University Medical School, 5 years after its launching.Population: All students (190) who attended the postgraduate medical program of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki from 2004 to 2008.Method: Students were asked to rate diverse characteristics of the program on a five grade scale. According to the above mentioned aims, an on-line questionnaire was designed, piloted and implemented containing 41 close-ending and 2 openending questions.Results: Subjects regarding the aims and the final assessment of the course were graded with the highest scores. In contrast, the essays given, the students’ belief on skills gained, the clarity of the principles and techniques, as well as the quality of the supporting material, achieved lower scoring. The variability of the grades indicates that there is enough space for important improvements.Conclusion: The successful implementation of an evaluation system of a postgraduate program is producing important information and evidence for its continuous improvement

Setting up the first clinical skills laboratory in Greece: Results from one-year evaluation

Following contemporary trends in medical education, the Medical School the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki initiate the development of the first Clinical Skills Laboratory (CSL) in a Greek setting. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of CSL’s implementation and its response to the students needs and expectations. All students (132) who completed CSL training, during the academic year 2005-2006 participated in the study. Students training took place on a weekly basis. After the completion of all parts, an anonymous questionnaire was distributed to the students in order to evaluate the CSL

Consequences of Job Insecurity on the Psychological and Physical Health of Greek Civil Servants

The aim of this study was to estimate the short term consequences of job insecurity associated with a newly introduced mobility framework in Greece. In specific, the study examined the impact of job insecurity on anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic and musculoskeletal symptoms, two months after the announcement of the mobility framework. In addition the study also examined the "spill over" effects of job insecurity on employees not directly affected by the mobility framework. Personal interviews using a structured questionnaire were conducted for 36 university administrative employees awaiting repositioning, 36 coworkers not at risk, and 28 administrative employees of a local hospital not at risk. Compared to both control groups the employees in the anticipation phase of labor mobility had significantly worse scores for perceived stress, anxiety, depression, positive affect, negative affect, social support, marital discord, common somatic symptoms, and frequency of musculoskeletal pain. This study highlights the immediate detrimental effects of job insecurity on the physical, psychological, and social functioning of employees. There is a need for the development of front line interventions to prevent these effects from developing into chronic conditions with considerable cost for the individual and society in general

SOP(3)v2: web-based selection of oligonucleotide primer trios for genotyping of human and mouse polymorphisms

SOP(3)v2 is a database-driven graphical web-based application for facilitating genotyping assay design. SOP(3)v2 accepts data input in numerous forms, including gene names, reference sequence numbers and physical location. For each entry, the application presents a set of recommended forward and reverse PCR primers, along with a sequencing primer, which is optimized for sequence-based genotyping assays. SOP(3)v2-generated oligonucleotide primer trios enable analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as well as insertion/deletion polymorphisms found in genomic DNA. The application's database was generated by warehousing information from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) dbSNP database, genomic DNA sequences from human and mouse, and LocusLink gene attribute information. Query results can be sorted by their biological relevance, such as nonsynonymous coding changes or physical location. Human polymorphism queries may specify ethnicity, haplotype and validation status. Primers are developed using SOP(3)v2's core algorithm for evaluating primer candidates through stability tests and are suitable for use with sequence-based genotyping methods requiring locus-specific amplification. The method has undergone laboratory validation. Of the SOP(3)v2-designed primer trios that were tested, a majority (>80%) have successfully produced genotyping data. The application may be accessed via the web at

Payments and quality of care in private for-profit and public hospitals in Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Empirical evidence on how ownership type affects the quality and cost of medical care is growing, and debate on these topics is ongoing. Despite the fact that the private sector is a major provider of hospital services in Greece, little comparative information on private versus public sector hospitals is available. The aim of the present study was to describe and compare the operation and performance of private for-profit (PFP) and public hospitals in Greece, focusing on differences in nurse staffing rates, average lengths of stay (ALoS), and Social Health Insurance (SHI) payments for hospital care per patient discharged.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Five different datasets were prepared and analyzed, two of which were derived from information provided by the National Statistical Service (NSS) of Greece and the other three from data held by the three largest SHI schemes in the country. All data referred to the 3-year period from 2001 to 2003.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>PFP hospitals in Greece are smaller than public hospitals, with lower patient occupancy, and have lower staffing rates of all types of nurses and highly qualified nurses compared with public hospitals. Calculation of ALoS using NSS data yielded mixed results, whereas calculations of ALoS and SHI payments using SHI data gave results clearly favoring the public hospital sector in terms of cost-efficiency; in all years examined, over all specialties and all SHI schemes included in our study, unweighted ALoS and SHI payments for hospital care per discharge were higher for PFP facilities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In a mixed healthcare system, such as that in Greece, significant performance differences were observed between PFP and public hospitals. Close monitoring of healthcare provision by hospital ownership type will be essential to permit evidence-based decisions on the future of the public/private mix in terms of healthcare provision.</p

European Integration, the Open Method of Coordination and the Future of European Health Policy

Gerlinger T. European Integration, the Open Method of Coordination and the Future of European Health Policy. In: Benos A, Deppe H-U, Lister J, eds. Health Policy in Europe: Contemporary Dilemmas and Challenges. London: International Association of Health Policy; 2007: 50-61