Presentation 1 - Medical students' expectations of faculty and student conduct during lecture
Denise Kay

University of Central Florida College of Medicine

 

PURPOSE Medical schools are experiencing diminishing classroom attendance in the preclinical years. Faculty observe inattentive, distracted and/or superficially engaged students. This investigation captured student's expectations of faculty and student conduct in lectures to better understand students' perceptions of the faculty-student relationship in lecture based learning formats. METHODS An open-ended and multiple-choice item voluntary survey was distributed to enrolled students at one medical school in June of 2018 (n=360). 147 (41%) students responded to the survey. Faculty and students collaborated on qualitative analysis of open-ended responses. RESULTS In self-assessing, 25% of respondents endorsed that they were engaged during lectures 90% of the time, 14% about 75% of the time, 7% about 50% of the time and 4% less than 50% of the time. 15% of students endorsed that they only use electronic devices to access the PowerPoint slides or take notes. 24% endorsed that, if they multitask during lectures, it is related to their studies. 10% endorsed multitasking not related to their studies. The salient themes identified in students' expectation of faculty during lecture were to be respectful, engaging, and present high yield, relevant information in a simple, clear and concise manner. The salient themes identified in students' expectations of each other during lecture were to be respectful, pay attention and participate/engage when appropriate, to not behave in distracting or disruptive ways, ask off topic questions or use electronic devices for non-course related purposes. CONCLUSION This local investigation suggests that faculty have the potential to enhance students' appreciation of the lecture format by clearly, concisely presenting high yield content, incorporating opportunities for engagement, and maintaining mutual respect amongst students and faculty. Students can contribute by increased awareness of potentially disruptive behaviors, for example, asking off topic questions or using electronic devices for purposes other than taking notes.

Presentation 2 - CONTEXT OVER CONTENT: IMPACT OF INTEGRATION OF BASIC SCIENCE DISCIPLINES IN PRE CLINICAL YEARS
Sarmishtha Ghosh

International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
 

PURPOSE In the 21st century, with the advent of  artificial intelligence, it is necessary for students to develop skill of effective management of information with applicability. This requires educational interventions  to support meaningful learning and reducing cognitive load of facts and figures. The study reports two cases of such interventions and the response of the students to the same. METHODS  A modified teaching-learning activity  was planned. An integrated case based learning resource was created on Allergic Rhinitis and Obesity & its Complications. The learning resource was created following the instructional design protocol and was made interactive with in built quizzes. This was provided to the entire batch, two week before the actual session. A pretest was conducted followed by interactive discussions on short cases with critical concept based questions (CCBQ). A debriefing was conducted. Feedback regarding the effectiveness of the sessions was obtained on a questionnaire. Scores were compared and opinions were noted. RESULTS 85% students considered this more acceptable than other existing teaching learning activities. 70% students stated that use of cases in the discussions helped them  understand the context of the study topic. Scores of CCBQs improved in post test. Percentage of students passing the test also improved  significantly. 80% students opined that this method helped them to grasp the concepts. CONCLUSION This method appeared to be an innovative option providing more opportunities for students to be able to grasp contextual concepts, removing compartmentalization.  This also helped in the understanding of application of  basic science information to real life cases. Immediate debriefing ensured better training of students through integration of basic science disciplines in a large classroom setting.      

 

Presentation 3 - CHANGES IN GENDERISM AND TRANSPHOBIA IN RESIDENTS AFTER A TRANSGENDER SPEAKER PANEL
Leon L. Lai
Medstar Washington Hospital Center
 

PURPOSE Transgender patients report frequently avoiding medical care due to prior experiences of bias and culturally insensitive care by medical providers. Cooperative Learning Theory suggests that inter-group contact is key to reducing bias. In this study, we compared reductions in the validated scale Genderism and Transphobia Scale (GTS) in medicine residents attending a lecture alone versus lecture plus a transgender speaker panel. METHODS Residents were invited to attend an hour lecture on culturally competent care of transgender patients with an option to also attend an hour-long speaker panel with a transgender woman, a transmasculine activist, and the mother a transgender boy.  All 125 Internal Medicine residents at a community hospital were invited to complete paired pre and post intervention surveys and attend the intervention, although only 76 residents were able to attend the intervention due to scheduling. Pre and post intervention surveys were collected in the 2 weeks before and after the intervention, respectively. RESULTS In 45 pre-intervention surveys, respondents reported a mean of 2 hours spent on LGBT issues in medical school and 40% reported no education on LGBT issues. 80% rated their LGBT curricula as poor or worse. In 27 post-intervention surveys, 19 respondents attended both lecture and panel with a mean change in GTS by -13.11 (SD 18.24). The remaining 8 respondents attended the lecture only and had an insignificant change in GTS by +1.38 (SD 3.43). Student's T-test showed that the reduction in GTS was greater in those attending the panel than those who did not (p=0.036). CONCLUSIONS In this small non-randomized study, residents attending an educational intervention that incorporated a patient speaker panel resulted in a greater decrease in measured genderism and transphobia than those attending a lecture alone. Medical education on transgender health will benefit from patient participation and representation.