Mistreatment of university students most common during medical studies

From BMC Medical Education 2005, 5:36

Background
This study concerns the occurrence of various forms of mistreatment by staff and fellow students experienced by students in the Faculty of Medicine and the other four faculties of the University of Oulu, Finland.

Methods
A questionnaire with 51 questions on various forms of physical and psychological mistreatment was distributed to 665 students (451 females) after lectures or examinations and filled in and returned. The results were analysed by gender and faculty. The differences between the males and females were assessed statistically using a test for the equality of two proportions. An exact two-sided P value was calculated using a mid-P approach to Fisher's exact test (the null hypothesis being that there is no difference between the two proportions).

Results
About half of the students answering the questionnaire had experienced some form of mistreatment by staff during their university studies, most commonly humiliation and contempt (40%), negative or disparaging remarks (34%), yelling and shouting (23%), sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based mistreatment (17%) and tasks assigned as punishment (13%). The students in the Faculty of Medicine reported every form of mistreatment more commonly than those in the Faculties of Humanities, Education, Science and Technology. Experiences of mistreatment varied, but clear messages regarding its patterns were to be found in each faculty. Female students reported more instances of mistreatment than males and were more disturbed by them. Professors, lecturers and other staff in particular mistreated female students more than they mistreated males. About half of the respondents reported some form of mistreatment by their fellow students.

Conclusions
Students in the Faculty of Medicine reported the greatest amount of mistreatment. If a faculty mistreats its students, its success in the main tasks of universities, research, teaching and learning, will be threatened. The results challenge university teachers, especially in faculties of medicine, to evaluate their ability to create a safe environment conducive to learning.

Anatomy of failure

From The Clinical Teacher June 2005 issue

Katinka J A H Prince, Albert J A A Scherpbier, Henk van Mameren, Jan Drukker & Cees P M van der Vleuten. Do students have sufficient knowledge of clinical anatomy? Medical Education 2005: volume 39: issue 3 pages 326332

Almost two-thirds of medical students failed anatomy tests, according to certain judges.

The study of Dutch medical students found different groups of judges set varying benchmarks for an anatomy test with students setting the toughest standards compared to lecturers and doctors when assessing their peers' anatomy knowledge.

But the different standards meant making a true assessment of whether anatomy knowledge levels are adequate was difficult and suggested clearer guidelines were needed.

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Problem-Based Learning: From where to where?

From The Clinical Teacher June 2005 issue

Thirty-six years ago I was first caught up in problem-based learning (PBL) at McMaster University in Canada. PBL was the energising but controversial innovation of the time. Three recent occasions remind us that it remains so:

1. In The Clinical Teacher David Taylor described introducing PBL at Liverpool1. His title made it sound daunting: 'Reflections from the salt mines'.
2. Dr Pham Thi Tam from Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam sought help from members of the Network: TUFH to establish PBL. Advice and experience was shared through the pages of its newsletter: 'If there is determination to do so, you should have no difficulty'.
3. At AMEE 2004 a review of the evidence for the value of PBL left some developing countries, committed to PBL, expressing new anxieties: 'Had they backed a loser? 'Is PBL a winner or a loser? Where did it come from, where may it go? The editor asked for my personal reflection.

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How to set up an OSCE

From The Clinical Teacher June 2005 issue

This article is not meant to be an exhaustive or in-depth analysis of OSCEs (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations) but rather a collection of useful advice, pointers and tips, gleaned from running OSCEs over many years. The use of OSCEs in the quantitative assessment of competence has become widespread in the field of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education since they were originally described, mainly due to the improved reliability of this assessment format. It offers in a fairer test of candidates' clinical abilities as all the candidates are presented with the same test.

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How to lead effective group discussions

From The Clinical Teacher June 2005 issue

An animated group discussion can stimulate thinking, promote deep engagement with subject matter, overcome misunderstandings and motivate learning. This is possible, in part, because learners in effective small groups are actively involved in the process of learning: articulating what they know, wrestling with the limits of their understanding, and engaging with others while seeking solutions to a problem. Small groups give learners the opportunity to share experiences and observations, ask questions, get feedback, and learn from their peers. Their active role in the learning process allows them to take more responsibility for their own learning. Because learners work together, group discussions can also foster collaborative and interactive skills, which is good preparation for future team work.

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