Interactive methods of teaching in classes of basic medical and biological sciences

Interactive learning is widely used in more than 115 countries around the world. It has already gained recognition in a relatively short period of time. The main methodological innovations today are connected with the use of interactive teaching methods and techniques when almost all the students are involved in a process of learning, each of whom makes their individual contribution to the solution of the task through the exchange of knowledge and ideas. The widespread introduction of innovative methods in the study of pharmacology and microbiology at the departments of Dnipropetrovsk medical academy is caused by difficulties in studying these subjects traditionally. Among the games in medical universities “Simulation” is preferred. The most common scenario is a "doctor - patient", which reveal questions of clinical manifestations, treatment and prevention of certain diseases, or "concilium", where the focus is on the features of the disease, methods of its diagnosis and choice of treatment and prevention, considering features of pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and side effects of drugs. Tasks for independent work of students on practical lessons can be designed for both, individual and group execution (meaning not only an academic group in general, but also dynamic division into small "creative" or "working" groups / teams). “Contest” game goes well with other progressive teaching methods, such as audio and video demonstration. At studying of medical microbiology demonstration of real objects is often impossible because of their danger to life and health of students, and implementation of a number of laboratory research - because of the complexity and duration. Thus, the benefits of interactive forms of learning are the ability to activate the self-cognitive and mental activity of students, involvement of students in the learning process as active participants in the development of skills in analyzing situations, increased motivation to learn discipline and increase self-esteem in the process of getting positive results, development of skills of teamwork, the increase of independent work of students, the development of proficiency in modern technical equipment and information processing technologies. The use of such forms of work, as the computer testing, provides a more precise objective assessment of students' knowledge and learning to obtain information from different sources and the formation of the needs in this - to get a well trained modern specialist with a high level of qualification

The S.E.L.F. Approach: Systems and Experiential Learning Framework for Fieldwork and Capstone Education Development

This article presents an evidence-based strategy to assist academic fieldwork coordinators and capstone coordinators with meeting the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education standards of experiential learning components in an entry-level doctoral occupational therapy curriculum. The S.E.L.F. approach core methods for pedagogical framework and manual development are based on systems theory and educational learning theories. To optimize fieldwork and capstone delivery, the recommended process should include organizational analysis, program development, manual writing, and implementation of practical learning experience. Objectives of the fieldwork and capstone experiences can effectively connect to the overall curriculum design while addressing integral credentialing standards through an evidence-based approach. The applied learning theories are pertinent for educators to objectively deliver beneficial experiential pedagogical outcomes for student professional growth. This article provides a logical fieldwork and capstone framework for pedagogical and manual development. The S.E.L.F. approach transforms learning to meet objectives of the occupational therapy program, students, and other potential audience stakeholders

The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual – 2nd edition (PDM-2)

For decades many clinicians, especially psychodynamic and humanistic therapists, have resisted thinking about their patients in terms of categorical diagnoses. In the current era, they find themselves having to choose between reluctantly “accepting” the DSM diagnostic labels, “denying” them, or developing alternatives more consistent with the dimensional, inferential, contextual, biopsychosocial diagnostic formulations characteristic of psychoanalytic and humanistic approaches. The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM) reflects an effort to articulate a psychodynamically oriented diagnosis that bridges the gap between clinical complexity and the need for empirical and methodological validity. In this paper the authors (the steering committee of the PDM-2) describe the process of construction of the PDM-1 and discuss changes proposed for implementation in PDM-2

Training of ukrainian students for english language subtest of “Krok 1” licensing examination

Introduction. European integration is one of the main vectors of the medical education development in Ukraine. Its important aspect is the particular attention to the language training of medical students. In 2017, the interns passed tests in English for the first time. Since 2017 – 2018 academic year the English language subtest will be included to the structure “Krok 1” for the students of such specialties as “Medicine”, “Stomatology”, and “Pharmacy”. The licensing examination, since 2018-2019, will evaluate medical students taking into account English language component. Although each basic subject contains no more than five English tasks, the Theoretical Departments can and should take part in the process of student training for new format of licensing examination

Interactive methods of teaching in classesof basic medical and biological sciences

Interactive learning is widely used in more than 115 countries around the world.It has already gained recognition in a relatively short period of time. The mainmethodological innovations today are connected with the use of interactiveteaching methods and techniques when almost all the students are involved in aprocess of learning, each of whom makes their individual contribution to thesolution of the task through the exchange of knowledge and ideas.The widespread introduction of innovative methods in the study ofpharmacology and microbiology at the departments of Dnipropetrovsk medicalacademy is caused by difficulties in studying these subjects traditionally.Among the games in medical universities “Simulation” is preferred. The mostcommon scenario is a "doctor - patient", which reveal questions of clinicalmanifestations, treatment and prevention of certain diseases, or "concilium",where the focus is on the features of the disease, methods of its diagnosis andchoice of treatment and prevention, considering features of pharmacodynamics,pharmacokinetics and side effects of drugs. Tasks for independent work ofstudents on practical lessons can be designed for both, individual and groupexecution (meaning not only an academic group in general, but also dynamicdivision into small "creative" or "working" groups / teams). “Contest” game goeswell with other progressive teaching methods, such as audio and videodemonstration. At studying of medical microbiology demonstration of realobjects is often impossible because of their danger to life and health of students,and implementation of a number of laboratory research - because of thecomplexity and duration.Thus, the benefits of interactive forms of learning are the ability to activate theself-cognitive and mental activity of students, involvement of students in thelearning process as active participants in the development of skills in analyzingsituations, increased motivation to learn discipline and increase self-esteem in theprocess of getting positive results, development of skills of teamwork, theincrease of independent work of students, the development of proficiency inmodern technical equipment and information processing technologies. The use ofsuch forms of work, as the computer testing, provides a more precise objectiveassessment of students' knowledge and learning to obtain information fromdifferent sources and the formation of the needs in this - to get a well trainedmodern specialist with a high level of qualification

Interactive metohods of teaching in clases of basic medical and biological sciences

Interactive learning is widely used in more than 115 countries around the world. It has already gained recognition in a relatively short period of time. The main methodological innovations today are connected with the use of interactive teaching methods and techniques when almost all the students are involved in a process of learning, each of whom makes their individual contribution to the solution of the task through the exchange of knowledge and ideas. The widespread introduction of innovative methods in the study of pharmacology and microbiology at the departments of Dnipropetrovsk medical academy is caused by difficulties in studying these subjects traditionally. Among the games in medical universities “Simulation” is preferred. The most common scenario is a "doctor - patient", which reveal questions of clinical manifestations, treatment and prevention of certain diseases, or "concilium", where the focus is on the features of the disease, methods of its diagnosis and choice of treatment and prevention, considering features of pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and side effects of drugs. Tasks for independent work of students on practical lessons can be designed for both, individual and group execution (meaning not only an academic group in general, but also dynamic division into small "creative" or "working" groups / teams). “Contest” game goes well with other progressive teaching methods, such as audio and video demonstration. At studying of medical microbiology demonstration of real objects is often impossible because of their danger to life and health of students, and implementation of a number of laboratory research - because of the complexity and duration. Thus, the benefits of interactive forms of learning are the ability to activate the self-cognitive and mental activity of students, involvement of students in the learning process as active participants in the development of skills in analyzing situations, increased motivation to learn discipline and increase self-esteem in the process of getting positive results, development of skills of teamwork, the increase of independent work of students, the development of proficiency in modern technical equipment and information processing technologies. The use of such forms of work, as the computer testing, provides a more precise objective assessment of students' knowledge and learning to obtain information from different sources and the formation of the needs in this - to get a well trained modern specialist with a high level of qualification

Rapid phenotypic and genomic change in response to therapeutic pressure in prostate cancer inferred by high content analysis of single circulating tumor cells

Timely characterization of a cancer's evolution is required to predict treatment efficacy and to detect resistance early. High content analysis of single Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) enables sequential characterization of genotypic, morphometric and protein expression alterations in real time over the course of cancer treatment. This concept was investigated in a patient with castrate-resistant prostate cancer progressing through both chemotherapy and targeted therapy. In this case study, we integrate across four timepoints 41 genome-wide copy number variation (CNV) profiles plus morphometric parameters and androgen receptor (AR) protein levels. Remarkably, little change was observed in response to standard chemotherapy, evidenced by the fact that a unique clone (A), exhibiting highly rearranged CNV profiles and AR+ phenotype was found circulating before and after treatment. However, clinical response and subsequent progression after targeted therapy was associated with the drastic depletion of clone A, followed by the sequential emergence of two distinct CTC sub-populations that differed in both AR genotype and expression phenotype. While AR- cells with flat or pseudo-diploid CNV profiles (clone B) were identified at the time of response, a new tumor lineage of AR+ cells (clone C) with CNV altered profiles was detected during relapse. We showed that clone C, despite phylogenetically related to clone A, possessed a unique set of somatic CNV alterations, including MYC amplification, an event linked to hormone escape. Interesting, we showed that both clones acquired AR gene amplification by deploying different evolutionary paths. Overall, these data demonstrate the timeframe of tumor evolution in response to therapy and provide a framework for the multi-scale analysis of fluid biopsies to quantify and monitor disease evolution in individual patients

Multiplex Accurate Sensitive Quantitation (MASQ) With Application to Minimal Residual Disease in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Measuring minimal residual disease in cancer has applications for prognosis, monitoring treatment and detection of recurrence. Simple sequence-based methods to detect nucleotide substitution variants have error rates (about 10-3) that limit sensitive detection. We developed and characterized the performance of MASQ (multiplex accurate sensitive quantitation), a method with an error rate below 10-6. MASQ counts variant templates accurately in the presence of millions of host genomes by using tags to identify each template and demanding consensus over multiple reads. Since the MASQ protocol multiplexes 50 target loci, we can both integrate signal from multiple variants and capture subclonal response to treatment. Compared to existing methods for variant detection, MASQ achieves an excellent combination of sensitivity, specificity and yield. We tested MASQ in a pilot study in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients who entered complete remission. We detect leukemic variants in the blood and bone marrow samples of all five patients, after induction therapy, at levels ranging from 10-2 to nearly 10-6. We observe evidence of sub-clonal structure and find higher target variant frequencies in patients who go on to relapse, demonstrating the potential for MASQ to quantify residual disease in AML