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Teaching Unit (teaching + unit)
Selected AbstractsStudent perspectives and opinions on their experience at an undergraduate outreach dental teaching centre at Cardiff: a 5-year studyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2010C. D. Lynch Abstract Aim:, Outreach teaching is now regarded as a desirable component of undergraduate dental teaching programmes in the UK. A purpose-built undergraduate dental outreach-training centre was opened in Cardiff in 2002. The aim of this paper is to report student perspectives and opinions on their experience at this unit over a 5-year period. Methods:, Final year dental students at Cardiff University were invited to report their comments on the St David's Primary Care Unit at various times during their placement there. Information was recorded for undergraduate students who commenced final year in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 (n = 257). Results:, After 1 year, the most common favourable aspects reported by students included the availability of a suitably trained nurse for all procedures (n = 191), ready access to helpful/approachable teaching staff (n = 145), and closeness of learning experience to subsequent practice (n = 122). Many students commented on their growing confidence in their own abilities whilst in the unit. Conclusion:, Overwhelmingly, students reported their enthusiasm for training in an outreach teaching unit, preferring it to traditional dental school environments. Inherent in the comments recorded for each student was a sense of growing confidence in their abilities and development of reflective practice. Further work is needed to identify the impact of this form of dental student training on subsequent practices in Vocational Training and independent clinical careers. [source] Understanding fatty acid metabolism through an active learning approachBIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 2 2010M. Fardilha Abstract A multi-method active learning approach (MALA) was implemented in the Medical Biochemistry teaching unit of the Biomedical Sciences degree at the University of Aveiro, using problem-based learning as the main learning approach. In this type of learning strategy, students are involved beyond the mere exercise of being taught by listening. Less emphasis is placed on transmitting information and the focus is shifted toward developing higher order thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation). However, MALA should always involve clearly identified objectives and well-defined targets. Understanding fatty acid metabolism was one of the proposed goals of the Medical Biochemistry unit. To this end, students were challenged with a variety of learning strategies to develop skills associated with group conflict resolution, critical thinking, information access, and retrieval, as well as oral and written communication skills. Overall, students and learning facilitators were highly motivated by the diversity of learning activities, particularly due to the emphasis on correlating theoretical knowledge with human health and disease. As a quality control exercise, the students were asked to answer a questionnaire on their evaluation of the whole teaching/learning experience. Our initial analysis of the learning outcomes permits us to conclude that the approach undertaken yields results that surpass the traditional teaching methods. [source] In-hospital mortality of newborn infants born before 33 weeks of gestation depends on the initial level of neonatal care: the EPIPAGE studyACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 3 2003JP Empana Aim: To determine the relation between the level of initial neonatal care and in-hospital mortality of infants born before 33 wk of gestation in the era of surfactant therapy. Methods: A 1 y prospective population-based survey was conducted in the north of France, as part of the EPIPAGE (Epidemiologie des Petits Ages Gestationnels) survey. Perinatal data were recorded for 585 very premature newborns transferred to a neonatal intensive care unit in 1997. The relation between the level of the neonatal unit that provided care for the first consecutive 48 h and in-hospital mortality was assessed by multivariate logistic regression, and adjusted for perinatal data and initial disease severity, estimated by the Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB). Results: The average gestational age (mean ± SD) was 31.6 ± 0.62 wk in level I, 30.7 ± 0.21 in level II, 29.9 ± 0.13 in non-teaching level III, and 29.0 ± 0.15 in the level III teaching unit (p < 0.0001). The mean in-hospital mortality rate was 8.4% and did not differ by level of care (ptrend= 0.17). After adjustment for perinatal data and CRIB, however, with the teaching unit as the reference, the risk of death was significantly higher in level I,II units [adjusted odds ratio (ORa) = 7.9, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 2.2,29.1], but not in the non-teaching level III units (ORa = 0.8, 95% CI 0.3,2.1). Conclusion: In-hospital mortality in non-teaching level III units was similar to that in a teaching unit, but significantly higher in level I-level II units. Neonatal care of newborns delivered before 33 wk of gestation should initially occur in level III units. [source] | ||||||||||