Medical Science Educator Volume 13: No. 2

Scholarship. A word we all use but how is it actually defined? To the basic scientist the meaning is clearly ingrained from our graduate student days that scholarship equals publication. And not just any publication, but specifically within certain journals of our discipline. For decades, survival at the bench has seemingly necessitated becoming narrower and… Read more »

In a previous issue of the Resource Guide (Vol. 12 #1, 2002), two examples illustrated how Websites can be linked to and incorporated into a lecture in real time. The incorporation of digitized Web based images into Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations is another strategy for using the Internet for instructional purposes. The Internet is a rich… Read more »

My father always told me your body is simply a vehicleA vessel for transitionSuperstitions predict positions of power for those who are selflessTraditions pass visions of peaceful exodusYet next to us corpses are scorned as moroseDon’t you rather them diagnosed as virtuous?I know I am envious of their courageOf their fearlessness and powerful pledgeFor they… Read more »

Abstract
An innovative and educationally sound method was introduced at the University of Louisville, School of Medicine for the education of the second year medical students. Instruction is by physicians, who present a clinical case in the Socratic manner. A group of students, through questioning, derive important facts about the case and ultimately agree on a differential diagnosis for the patient described in the case. The students then spend individual time arriving at the diagnosis of the disease and submit a report on their research. This information is shared with the entire class. This novel approach is amenable for use in other medical school years, as well.

Abstract
A challenge of the undergraduate anatomy course at the University of Michigan Medical School is the diverse educational background of students taking the course. Students taking this course belong to kinesiology, Literature, Science & Arts, dental hygiene, biomedical engineering, and pre-pharmacology and other graduate disciplines. Questionable motivation and poor course performance of more than 50% of our students caused us to introduce innovative teaching measures during the Fall 2002 semester. These measures included: 1) regular quizzes, 2) frequent visits to the gross anatomy lab, 3) specific lecture objectives handed out before lectures, 4) PowerPoint® lecture presentations that sometimes included animations of basic anatomical concepts, 5) a “Coursetools” web site that contained lecture objectives and presentations, schedules, announcements, and a discussion forum, and 6) mandatory modules that utilized plastinated specimens and covered essential course concepts. Student questionnaires were administered and analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods. The aim of introducing survey questionnaires during the semester was to focus attention on specific emerging issues that needed prompt management during the course. Results showed that the majority of students favored the weekly quizzes, lab visits, PowerPoint presentations, and lecture objectives. Also, there was a statistically significant improvement in students’ performance from all disciplines during the final examination compared to the first and second examinations following the introduction of the measures. Although these teaching techniques have not significantly raised students’ mean performance in relation to previous years, the results showed that they were welcomed by the majority of students and that performance was positively enhanced. These measures will be re-implemented during the next semester and their effectiveness further evaluated.

Abstract
At a regional continuing education conference for pharmacists, 278 attendees answered five questions before and after attending a seminar on important topics in sleep medicine. The purpose of the study was to assess the need for sleep medicine education and to determine the effectiveness of the seminar at the conference. On the pre-test, 80% of the pharmacists answered two or fewer questions correctly. After the seminar, on the post-test, 77% of the pharmacists answered three or more questions correctly. The results of this study indicate that continuing education seminars on sleep medicine are beneficial to pharmacists. In addition, this study provides evidence supporting the need for sleep medicine education in this group of health care professionals.

Abstract
This article is based on the authors’ experience with and observations of an academic activity entitled, “Problem Discussions in Medical Ethics”, conducted by the Department of Deontology at Ankara University for more than 13 years. The overall scope of the presentations has actually proven to be more comprehensive than that of Medical Ethics as a definite academic discipline including topics such as medical education; nursing, dental and veterinary ethics; academic life in general;, and women’s issues, which may or may not have a direct relationship with medical ethics. As another methodological point related to our activity, the meaning of the term “problem” is not limited to the event or single case level, but potentially represents many cases which form a group or set due to their similarities to be taken into account in the related ethical (and metaethical) discussions. Within the scope of the present paper, we consider first, the place of the problem solving approach in academic teaching as well as the importance of the continuous all-level discussions in medical ethics. We will discuss the activity in question in the light of a systematization of the topics presented and in that of our critical observations on the preparation and actualization of the presentations.