Linda Bergeron

The influence of medical students’ self‐explanations on diagnostic performance

Medical Education 2011: 45: 688–695

Self‐explanation in learning clinical reasoning: the added value of examples and prompts

Recent studies suggest that self‐explanation (SE) while diagnosing cases fosters the development of clinical reasoning in medical students; however, the conditions that optimise the impact of SE remain unknown. The example‐based learning framework justifies an exploration of students’ use of their own SEs combined with the study of examples. This study aimed to assess the impact on medical students’ diagnostic performance of: (i) combining students’ SEs with their listening to examples of residents’ SEs, and (ii) the addition of prompts (specific questions) while working with examples.

From See One Do One, to See a Good One Do a Better One: Learning Physical Examination Skills Through Peer Observation

Background: Learning and mastering the skills required to execute physical exams is of great importance and should be fostered early during medical training. Observing peers has been shown to positively influence the acquisition of psychomotor skills. Purpose: The current study investigated the influence of peer observation on the acquisition of psychomotor skills required to execute a physical examination. Methods: Second-year medical students (N = 194) learned the neurological physical examination for low back pain in groups of three. Each student learned and performed the physical examination while the other students observed. Analyses compared the impact of the quantity and the quality of observed performances on students’ learning of the physical examination skills. Results: Students benefited from observing peers while they executed their examination. Moreover, observing a high-performing peer increased the acquisition of physical examination skills. Conclusions: Results suggest that group learning activities that allow students to observe their peers during physical examination should be favored.

Exploring residents’ spontaneous collaborative skills in a simulated setting context: an exploratory study on CanMEDS collaborator role

Background Collaboration is an important competence to be acquired by residents. Although improving residents’ collaboration via interprofessional education has been investigated in many studies, little is known about the residents’ spontaneous collaborative behavior. The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe how residents spontaneously collaborate. Methods Seven first-year residents (postgraduate year 1; three from family medicine and one each from ear, nose, and throat, obstetrics/gynecology, general surgery, and orthopedic surgery) participated in two collaborative meetings with actors performing the part of other health professionals (ie, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, nurse, or social worker). Both meetings were built around an issue or conflict with the patients’ families reported by one professional. The residents were required to lead the meeting to collect proper information to reach a joint decision. Two team members analyzed the video recordings of the meetings using an emerging-theme qualitative methodology. Results Although the residents spontaneously knew how to successfully communicate with other professionals, they seemed to struggle with the patient-centered approach and the shared decision-making process. Discussion Even if the residents performed communication-wise in their collaborative role, they seemed to have perceived themselves as decision makers instead of collaborators in the joint decision process. The results of this study can inform future studies on learning strategies to improve behaviors that would more likely need attention in interprofessional education.