Debra A. DaRosa

A study of the information-seeking skills of medical students and physician faculty

In the research reported here, the authors compared (a) the abilities of third- and fourth-year students and physicians to solve problems requiring review of current literature with (b) the information-seeking procedures of the three groups in researching those problems. The subjects were given a patient care question to answer, and logs were maintained to document their information-seeking processes. The findings indicated no differences among the three groups in accurately solving patient care problems; a difference in information-seeking processes between third-year students and physicians; and no differences between third-year and fourth-year students or between physicians and fourth-year students in their approaches to seeking information. Mean scores indicated that all three groups need additional training on accessing the literature in making patient care decisions.

A model for teaching medical students in an ambulatory surgery setting.

No abstract available.

The learning needs of first-year surgical residents in the intensive care unit

BACKGROUND Residents are more likely to learn from educational experiences when properly prepared from the start of instruction and expectations are clear and consistent. The purpose of this study was to examine what first year residents need to know and be able to perform before starting their rotation in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS The sample included surgical faculty, first through fifth year general surgery residents, and ICU nurses. A survey was developed that listed 110 knowledge and skill items felt to be possible prerequisite learning objectives. Respondents were asked to evaluate the required level of knowledge or skill on a 5-point Likert-type scale. RESULTS Items were divided into knowledge or skill categories and then ranked in descending order by their mean ratings. Four knowledge and 10 skill items were ranked highly by all 3 groups of respondents. Kruskall-Wallis analyses found 58 items with statistically significant differences in mean ratings between groups of respondents. CONCLUSION With this information a self assessment tool was developed to determine the level of performance on these identified learning objectives. A course of instruction can now be developed to assist residents in meeting these objectives before they assume patient care responsibilities in the ICU.

Assessing patient evaluation skills: A structured versus traditional approach

The purpose of the study on which this article is based was to determine differences in interviewing skills between third-year medical students who were provided structured, evaluative feedback and those assessed via traditional feedback methods. Experimental group students received a written assessment for every orthopedic hospital patient worked up, while the control group received traditional assessment feedback. Comparison measures were made based on student performance on a simulated patient examination. Results indicated that students who were provided structured feedback scored significantly higher (p less than .05) than those assessed by traditional assessment means.

The Effect of Feedback on Students’ Abilities to Write Daily Progress Notes

Previous research has shown that the majority of medical schools do not formally teach medical writing, including writing of progress notes. The purpose of this research was to determine the impact consistently provided objective feedback has on enhancing the quality of student notes. A static group‐comparison design was used to determine the quality of progress notes written by students who received structured written feedback versus those given traditional feedback. Twenty patient names were selected from students’ logbooks from both groups, totaling 40 patient charts. Progress notes were blindly reviewed by 1 faculty member, using a checklist instrument, which was studied for evidence of reliability and validity. Results showed a statistically significant (p = .05) difference between the groups’ abilities to write assessment and plan portions of a progress note, but no differences were noted on student abilities to document subjective data. Findings suggest some students often have an inability to inte...

The Way We Teach Information-Seeking Skills

A problem-based approach has been introduced as part of a surgery clerkship, to teach medical students information-seeking skills.Students are given an assignment before an information search seminar, to work independently to resolve one of two patient problems and in the process record each step of their information seeking. Students answer questions about the patients management on a card before the seminar. During the seminar the students report their competence on using medical information sources and are able to assess their own efficacy in comparison to an expert information seeker. Students have responded favourably to the seminars.

Correlates of honor ratings in a clinical clerkship employing a faculty forum evaluation system

5he purpose of this study was to determine whether or not suspected variables affected a surgery clerks chances of being awarded an honor rating. Findings indicated a significant relationship between a student receiving an honor rating and his or her preceptors predetermined level of student advocacy, the number of completed patient interview and physical examination write-ups, and final examination scores. There was no significant relationship found between honor ratings and the preceptors status, the sequence in which the student was discussed or the length of time spent discussing the student at the final evaluation meeting, or the number of clinical faculty present at the meeting. These results lend support to the faculty forum evaluation approach, but suggest a need for further scrutiny of some influencing variables to ensure all students are fairly considered and honor ratings judiciously awarded.

In brief: Role of nurse instructors in the surgery clerkship

Southern Illinois University School of Meqicine accepted its first class in 1973. As a new medical school faced with a shortage of clinically qualified teaching staff, the Department of Surgery sensed the need for someone to coordinate the various facets of the clinical clerkship as well as to take over teaching clinical skills to the students. ’ Two registered nurses were subsequently hired by the Department, given faculty status, and assigned to one of the two school-affiliated community hospitals.