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Background Nurses are responsible for implementing appropriate measures to reduce hospital infections, especially with multidrug resistant bacteria, so nursing students should learn about microbiology. This helps them to understand bacterial dissemination and infectious disease control. Because of tight schedules, however, its teaching is limited in undergraduate nursing classes in Japan. We therefore tested whether a simple short practical session in a microbiology class could help to improve undergraduate nursing students’ awareness of bacterial traits and how to prevent infections. Methods This study involved second-grade nursing students ( n  = 76). Two short practical sessions (a total of 3 h, across 2 days) were used to assess the effectiveness of washing or disinfection on hand bacteria in a 16-class microbiology course (total class time was 24 h, plus an exam). Hand bacteria were sampled on LB agar plates with orientation during the first half-day, and the plates examined for colonies with distinct color or morphological traits, and discussed, in the second session, a week later. Questionnaires before and after the exercise were used to assess changes in awareness of unseen bacteria inhabiting around us connecting bacterial traits and how to prevent infections. Results The results showed that the practical increased the nursing students’ awareness of fomites (utensils) ( p  = 0.0115), fomites (contact-based) ( p  = 0.0016), habitats (body surface) ( p  = 0.0127), action facilitating hospital infection ( p  = 0.0166), and changes in physical condition caused by bacterial infections ( p  = 0.0136). There were no changes in word associations ( p  = 0.627) or habitats (inside body) ( p  = 0.308). Difficulty score, which is an element in questionnaire psychometric properties, tended to be close to the expected score through the practical, but not statistical significant. In addition, regardless of before or after practical, Cronbach α score, which is an indicator of the reliability among items of multi-choice questions, showed > 0.8, indicating validity of evaluation items. Thus, the student’s awareness of unseen bacteria inhabiting around us was significantly increased as compared to those before practical in microbiology class. Conclusions The simple short practical effectively improved nursing students’ awareness of unseen bacteria inhabiting around us in microbiology course, useful for even tight teaching schedules.

PurposeDuring this forced down-time of COVID-19 pandemic, shift to virtual anatomy education is the solitary solution to support the learning of students. The purpose of this study was to understand the visible and invisible potential challenges being faced by the 1st year medical and dental students while attending digital anatomy classes.MethodsThe present study was conducted on 81st year medical and dental students who were admitted to their respective college in August 2019 and were willing to participate in the study. A multiple choice close-ended questionnaire regarding their opinion on virtual classes was designed and feedback was taken from the students.ResultsMajority (65%) of the students agreed that they missed their traditional anatomy learning i.e., dissection courses, face to face lectures and interaction with mentors. The students strongly felt the lack of confidence and difficulty in the topics completed without dissections, models, microscopic slides and other modalities. 83% felt lack of proper gadgets, high-band width and strong internet connections, a potential barrier in their digital learning. Lack of self-motivation was felt by 69% students.ConclusionsThe current situation of anatomy education is not intentional, and is not the long term silver bullet solution for a visual subject like anatomy. Though learners face a lot of challenges, however, a shift to online must be supported at this time of health crisis. As the digital learning may go for indefinite period, the feedback of students may be helpful for relevant and timely modifications in digital anatomy education.

Engaging undergraduate students in scientific research promises substantial benefits, but it is not accessible to all students and is rarely implemented early in college education, when it will have the greatest impact. An inclusive Research Education Community (iREC) provides a centralized scientific and administrative infrastructure enabling engagement of large numbers of students at different types of institutions. The Science Education Alliance–Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) is an iREC that promotes engagement and continued involvement in science among beginning undergraduate students. The SEA-PHAGES students show strong gains correlated with persistence relative to those in traditional laboratory courses regardless of academic, ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic profiles. This persistent involvement in science is reflected in key measures, including project ownership, scientific community values, science identity, and scientific networking.

Competency-based medical education holds the promise of producing a better-trained workforce — and for many physicians, this training could be accomplished within a shorter time frame.

The third year Patient Care Phase clinical rotations include 12 weeks of Internal Medicine and 6 weeks each of Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Surgery. In addition to the required patient care clerkship, we also have a variable number of students in 4th year surgical clerkships, also spread throughout the WWAMI region. Logistically, the issue of clinical evaluation and how to administer the required NBME test were among the first concerns. Since the 3rd year students had completed 4 of 6 weeks of the rotation, the UW SOM Patient Care and Explore and Focus committees considered requirements of the rotations to be satisfactory and chose not to issue incomplete grades or have students make up those lost 2 weeks. Surgery clerkship leadership sent email correspondence to all of the sites with students and asked them to proceed with clinical grading and to take into consideration each student's overall trajectory when assessing their performance.

The nonprofit-governance requirement for medical schools was a core component of U.S. medical care’s transformation. But recently, several for-profit schools have been provisionally or fully accredited.

Background Few published articles provide a comprehensive overview of the available evidence on the topic of evaluating competency-based medical education (CBME) curricula. The purpose of this review is therefore to synthesize the available evidence on the evaluation practices for competency-based curricula employed in schools and programs for undergraduate and postgraduate health professionals. Method This systematized review was conducted following the systematic reviews approach with minor modifications to synthesize the findings of published studies that examined the evaluation of CBME undergraduate and postgraduate programs for health professionals. Results Thirty-eight articles met the inclusion criteria and reported evaluation practices in CBME curricula from various countries and regions worldwide, such as Canada, China, Turkey, and West Africa. 57% of the evaluated programs were at the postgraduate level, and 71% were in the field of medicine. The results revealed variation in reporting evaluation practices, with numerous studies failing to clarify evaluations’ objectives, approaches, tools, and standards as well as how evaluations were reported and communicated. It was noted that questionnaires were the primary tool employed for evaluating programs, often combined with interviews or focus groups. Furthermore, the utilized evaluation standards considered the well-known competencies framework, specialized association guidelines, and accreditation criteria. Conclusion This review calls attention to the importance of ensuring that reports of evaluation experiences include certain essential elements of evaluation to better inform theory and practice.

Background Disaster medicine involves managing situations where medical needs exceed available resources. In Sweden, disaster medicine is not yet a mandatory component of the medical education. Since the introduction of a revised six-year medical curriculum in 2021, it is unclear how disaster medicine will be integrated into the new program. This study aimed to evaluate the status of undergraduate disaster medicine education in Swedish medical schools, the teaching methodologies employed, plans for future curriculum integration, and the extent of variation across universities. Methods We conducted a comprehensive review of syllabi from all Swedish medical programs to identify the inclusion of disaster medicine. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 representatives from all seven Swedish medical schools, including those responsible for disaster medicine education or members of the education boards. The interviews explored teaching methods, curriculum content, and plans for the new six-year program. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results Disaster medicine is included in the curriculum of all Swedish medical programs; however, its content, extent, and teaching approaches vary. Lectures are the most common teaching method, with some schools incorporating case discussions, tabletop exercises, and disaster simulations. Most medical faculties plan to maintain or expand their disaster medicine curriculum. However, there is no formal collaboration between universities in developing or standardizing disaster medicine education for the new curriculum. Conclusion The current level of disaster medicine education in Swedish medical schools requires enhancement in both quality and scope. Variations between universities would need to be minimized to ensure a more consistent approach. Preliminary plans for the new six-year medical program suggest that disparities between universities may persist, underscoring the need for a coordinated effort in standardizing disaster medicine education at the undergraduate level.

Background Medical students are exposed to high amounts of stress. Stress and poor academic performance can become part of a vicious circle. In order to counteract this circularity, it seems important to better understand the relationship between stress and performance during medical education. The most widespread stress questionnaire designed for use in Medical School is the “Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument” (PMSS). It addresses a wide range of stressors, including workload, competition, social isolation and financial worries. Our aim was to examine the relation between the perceived Medical School stress of undergraduate medical students and academic performance. Methods We measured Medical School stress using the PMSS at two different time points (at the end of freshman year and at the end of sophomore year) and matched stress scores together with age and gender to the first medical examination (M1) grade of the students ( n  = 456). Results PMSS scores from 2 and 14 months before M1 proved to be significant predictors for medical students’ M1 grade. Age and gender also predict academic performance, making older female students with high stress scores a potential risk group for entering the vicious circle of stress and poor academic performance. Conclusions PMSS sum scores 2 and 14 months before the M1 exam seem to have an independent predictive validity for medical students’ M1 grade. More research is needed to identify potential confounders.

Background There is evidence that newly qualified doctors do not feel prepared to start work. This study examined views of first year Foundation doctors (F1s) regarding how prepared they felt by their undergraduate medical education for skills required during the first Foundation training year in relation to their type of training. Method One-hundred and eighty two F1s completed a questionnaire during their first rotation of Foundation training. Analysis was conducted by type of medical school training: Problem-Based Learning (PBL), Traditional or Reformed. Results F1s from medical schools with a PBL curriculum felt better prepared for tasks associated with communication and team working, and paperwork than graduates from the other medical school types; but the majority of F1s from all three groups felt well prepared for most areas of practice. Less than half of graduates in all three groups felt well prepared to deal with a patient with neurological/visual problems; write referral letters; understand drug interactions; manage pain; and cope with uncertainty. F1s also indicated that lack of induction or support on starting work was affecting their ability to work in some areas. Conclusions Whilst F1s from medical schools with a PBL curriculum did feel better prepared in multiple areas compared to graduates from the other medical school types, specific areas of unpreparedness related to undergraduate and postgraduate medical training were identified across all F1s. These areas need attention to ensure F1s are optimally prepared for starting work.