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Conventional Teaching (conventional + teaching)
Selected AbstractsComparison of Outcomes of Two Skills-teaching Methods on Lay-rescuers' Acquisition of Infant Basic Life Support SkillsACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 9 2010Itai Shavit MD ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:979,986 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract Objectives:, The objective was to determine if lay-rescuers' acquisition of infant basic life support (BLS) skills would be better when skills teaching consisted of videotaping practice and providing feedback on performances, compared to conventional skills-teaching and feedback methods. Methods:, This pilot-exploratory, single-blind, prospective, controlled, randomized study was conducted on November 12, 2007, at the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion,Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. The population under study consisted of all first-year medical students enrolled in the 2007,2008 year. BLS training is part of their mandatory introductory course in emergency medicine. Twenty-three students with previous BLS training were excluded. The remaining 71 were randomized into four and then two groups, with final allocation to an intervention and control group of 18 and 16 students, respectively. All the students participated in infant BLS classroom teaching. Those in the intervention group practiced skills acquisition independently, and four were videotaped while practicing. Tapes were reviewed by the group and feedback was provided. Controls practiced using conventional teaching and feedback methods. After 3 hours, all subjects were videotaped performing an unassisted, lone-rescuer, infant BLS resuscitation scenario. A skills assessment tool was developed. It consisted of 25 checklist items, grouped into four sections: 6 points for "categories" (with specific actions in six categories), 14 points for "scoring" (of accuracy of performance of each action), 4 points for "sequence" (of actions within a category), and 1 point for "order" of resuscitation (complete and well-sequenced categories). Two blinded expert raters were given a workshop on the use of the scoring tool. They further refined it to increase scoring consistency. The main outcome of the study was defined as evidence of better skills acquisition in overall skills in the four sections and in the specific skills sets for actions in any individual category. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics. Results:, Means and mean percentages were greater in the intervention group in all four sections compared to controls: categories (5.72 [95.33%] and 4.69 [92.66%]), scoring (10.57 [75.50%] and 7.41 [43.59%]), sequence (2.28 [57.00%] and 1.66 [41.50%]), and order of resuscitation (0.96 [96.00%] and 0.19 [19.00%]). The means and mean percentages of the actions (skill sets) in the intervention group were also larger than those of controls in five out of six categories: assessing responsiveness (1.69 [84.50%] and 1.13 [56.50%]), breathing technique (1.69 [93.00%] and 1.13 [47.20%]), chest compression technique (3.19 [77.50%] and 1.84 [46.00%]), activating emergency medical services (EMS) (3.00 [100.00%] and 2.81 [84.50%]), and resuming cardiopulmonary resuscitation (0.97 [97.00%] and 0.47 [47.00%]). These results demonstrate better performance in the intervention group. Conclusions:, The use of videotaped practice and feedback for the acquisition of overall infant BLS skills and of specific skill sets is effective. Observation and participation in the feedback and assessment of nonexperts attempting infant BLS skills appeared to improve the ability of this group of students to perform the task. [source] Osteoporosis-Related Kyphosis and Impairments in Pulmonary Function: A Systematic Review,JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2007Robyn A Harrison Abstract We conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between osteoporotic vertebral fractures, kyphosis, and pulmonary function. Findings suggest modest but predictable declines in vital capacity related to the degree of kyphosis. However, there were only four studies, and all had significant methodologic limitations. Further high-quality research is needed. Introduction: Our objective was to systematically review the extent to which osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures and kyphosis affect pulmonary function. Materials and Methods: We used a literature search from 1966 to 2006 (using Medline, EMBASE, and hand searches of references) for studies examining pulmonary function in patients without known lung disease who had vertebral fractures or kyphosis secondary to osteoporosis. Two reviewers independently abstracted data. Heterogeneity precluded formal meta-analysis. Results: Initial searches yielded 453 articles. After applying eligibility criteria, only four case-control studies of limited quality (e.g., only one study was blinded) remained. Since 1966, only 109 patients (6 men) have been studied. All four studies reported reductions in vital capacity (VC), with values ranging from 68% to 94% of predicted values. This was quantified as a 9% reduction in predicted VC per vertebral fracture in one study. The degree of kyphosis clinically (one study) or radiographically (three studies) correlated with declines in VC; impairments were most notable at kyphotic angles >55°. Statistically significant differences in percent predicted VC were obtained only when arm span or recalled height, rather than measured height, was used (two studies). Conclusions: Despite conventional teaching, the evidence relating osteoporotic vertebral fractures or kyphosis to pulmonary function is limited. On the basis of available studies, declines in VC secondary to kyphosis seem modest and directly related to the number of vertebral fractures or degree of kyphosis. Future studies need longitudinal follow-up of larger numbers of men and women, appropriate proxies for height, standardized measures for pulmonary function and kyphosis, and efforts to blind outcomes ascertainment. [source] Surgical e-learning: validation of multimedia web-based lecturesMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2007Paul F Ridgway Background, Distance learning has been advocated increasingly as a modern efficient method of teaching surgery. Efficiency of knowledge transfer and validity of web-based courses have not been subjected to rigorous study to date. Methods, An entirely web-based surgical 5-week lecture course was designed. Fifty per cent of the lectures were prepared as HTML slides with voice-over while the other group was presented in the text-only form. Only written material presented was examined. The lectures were presented via an educational web module. The lecture series was balanced specifically to reduce the pre-existent knowledge bias. Web usage was estimated utilising surrogates, including the number of hits as well as log-on timing. Face validity was assessed by a standardised questionnaire. Results, Eighty-eight students took part in the lecture series and subsequent examination and questionnaire. Median multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ) marks were significantly higher in the aural lecture-derived stems versus the non-aural (P = 0.012, Mann,Whitney U -test). There was widespread approval of web-based learning as an adjunct to conventional teaching. Usage rates were augmented significantly in the final week when compared to the previous 4 weeks (mean total hits weeks 1,4 ± SEM: 100.9 ± 9.7 and mean total hits week 5: 152.1 ± 13.1; P < 0.001, Kruskal,Wallis). However, total hits did not correlate with overall examination results (r2 = 0.16). The aural lectures demonstrated higher face validity than the non-aural for content and presentation (P < 0.05, Kruskal,Wallis). Conclusions, The addition of aural files to the novel web-based lecture series is face valid and results in significantly increased examination performance. [source] What adjustments, if any, do UK optometrists make to the subjective refraction result prior to prescribing?OPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 3 2010Chris Howell-Duffy Abstract Aim:, To determine whether UK optometrists routinely prescribe the subjective refraction result, or whether adjustments are made to aid patient comfort and adaptation. Method:, A questionnaire was distributed by post and via the internet to UK optometrists. It incorporated eight case scenarios that included information regarding a patient's age, symptoms, habitual refractive correction, subjective refraction and any other pertinent clinical information. For each case, they were asked to indicate what refractive correction they would prescribe. Results:, A total of 426 questionnaires were completed. In three cases with asymptomatic patients with negligible changes in visual acuity, about 45% of respondents indicated that they would prescribe the subjective refraction result and about 40% would prescribe the habitual correction. In a further case involving a 75 year-old asymptomatic patient, 55% prescribed the habitual correction. In two cases with large cylinder power changes, about 40% of respondents indicated they would partially prescribe the cylinder power. However, there was a large variation in the suggested modification of sphere powers to accompany the partial cylinder changes. Conclusion:, A large sample of UK optometrists indicated that they would prescribe the subjective refraction result regardless of patient age, symptoms and difference between habitual correction and subjective refraction. Optometrists who partially prescribe, employ a wide variety of techniques including some that conflict with conventional teaching. [source] | ||||||||||