Lotte Dyhrberg O'Neill

Admission criteria and diversity in medical school.

The under‐representation in medical education of students from lower socio‐economic backgrounds is an important social issue. There is currently little evidence about whether changes in admission strategies might increase the diversity of the medical student population. Denmark introduced an ‘attribute‐based’ admission track to make it easier for students who may not be eligible for admission on the ‘grade‐based’ track to be admitted on the basis of attributes other than academic performance. The aim of this research was to examine whether there were significant differences in the social composition of student cohorts admitted via each of the two tracks during the years 2002–2007.

Generalisability of a composite student selection programme

Objectives  The reliability of individual non‐cognitive admission criteria in medical education is controversial. Nonetheless, non‐cognitive admission criteria appear to be widely used in selection to medicine to supplement the grades of qualifying examinations. However, very few studies have examined the overall test generalisability of composites of non‐cognitive admission variables in medical education. We examined the generalisability of a composite process for selection to medicine, consisting of four variables: qualifications (application form information); written motivation (in essay format); general knowledge (multiple‐choice test), and a semi‐structured admission interview. The aim of this study was to estimate the generalisability of a composite selection.

Improving QST Reliability – More Raters, Tests or Occasions?: A Multivariate Generalizability Study

UNLABELLED The reliability of quantitative sensory testing (QST) is affected by the error attributable to both test occasion and rater (examiner) and the interactions between them. Most reliability studies account for only 1 source of error. The present study employed a fully crossed, multivariate generalizability design to account for rater and occasion variance simultaneously. Nineteen healthy volunteers were examined with a battery of 7 QST procedures 4 times on 2 occasions by 2 raters. The QST battery was composed to include a mix of different pain stimuli and response domains, including threshold, intensity, tolerance, and modulation with mechanical, thermal, and chemical stimuli. The classical test-retest and interrater reliability (.19 < intraclass correlation coefficient <.92) was in line with the literature, and generalizability analysis indicated that the universe score was generally the dominant source of variation (relative contribution = 19%, 78%). Error attributable to the interaction between study participant and occasion was also influential. Dependability coefficients indicated that a substantial increase in reliability and feasibility could be achieved by employing a composite QST battery compared to single QST procedures. Reliability was improved more by repeated testing on separate occasions than by repeated testing by different raters. PERSPECTIVES When balancing reliability and feasibility, the current findings suggest that a carefully selected battery of QST procedures repeated on a few occasions may be optimal.

The Danish Neck Disability Index: New Insights into Factor Structure, Generalizability, and Responsiveness.

To (1) translate and culturally adapt and (2) determine the clinimetric properties of the Danish 8‐item Neck Disability Index (NDI‐8) in primary sector patients (PSPs) and secondary sector patients (SSPs).

Generalizability of a composite student selection procedure at a university-based chiropractic program.

PURPOSE Non-cognitive admission criteria are typically used in chiropractic student selection to supplement grades. The reliability of non-cognitive student admission criteria in chiropractic education has not previously been examined. In addition, very few studies have examined the overall test generalizability of composites of non-cognitive admission variables in admission to health science programs. The aim of this study was to estimate the generalizability of a composite selection to a chiropractic program, consisting of: application form information, a written motivational essay, a common knowledge test, and an admission interview. METHODS Data from 105 Chiropractic applicants from the 2007 admission at the University of Southern Denmark were available for analysis. Each admission parameter was double scored using two random, blinded, and independent raters. Variance components for applicant, rater and residual effects were estimated for a mixed model with the restricted maximum likelihood method. The reliability of obtained applicant ranks (generalizability coefficients) was calculated for the individual admission criteria and for the composite admission procedure. RESULTS Very good generalizability was found for the common knowledge test (G=1.00) and the admission interview (G=0.88). Good generalizability was found for application form information (G=0.75) and moderate generalizability (G=0.50) for the written motivation essay. The generalizability of the final composite admission procedure, which was a weighted composite of all 4 admission variables was good (G(c) = 0.80). CONCLUSION Good generalizability for a composite admission to a chiropractic program was found. Optimal weighting and adequate sampling are important for obtaining optimal generalizability. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The validity of student tutors' judgments in early detection of struggling in medical school. A prospective cohort study.

AbstractEarly identification and support of strugglers in medical education is generally recommended in the research literature, though very little evidence of the diagnostic qualities of early teacher judgments in medical education currently exists. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of early diagnosis of struggling in medical school based on informal teacher judgements of in-class behavior. The study design was a prospective cohort study and the outcomes/truth criteria were anatomy failure and medical school drop out. Six weeks into an anatomy course, student tutors attempted to identify medical students, who they reckoned would fail the anatomy course or drop out, based on their everyday experiences with students in a large group educational setting. In addition, they were asked to describe the indicators of struggling they observed. Sixteen student tutors evaluated 429 medical students for signs of struggling. By week six, the student tutors were able to detect approximately 1/4–1/3 of the students who eventually failed or dropped out, and for ¾ of the strugglers they identified, they were correct in their judgments. Informal student tutor’s judgements showed incremental validity for both outcomes when controlling for grades obtained in preceeding exams. Lack of participation, lack of commitment, poor academic performance, poor social interactions and general signs of distress were the main indicators of struggling identified. Teachers’ informal judgements of in-class behavior may be an untapped source of information in the early identification of struggling medical students with added value above and beyond formal testing.

The Danish version of the Neck Disability Index

The World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) held its 13th Biennial Congress in Athens, Greece, on May 13 through 16, 2015. The WFC call for abstracts resulted in 237 submissions from 19 countries (Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States). From these abstracts, a total of 40 platforms and 117 posters were presented at the Congress.Objectives: People of rural Botswana rely on walking as their principal mode of transport over long distances and rugged geographical terrain. For those who suffer from Muscle, Bone and Joint (MuBoJo) disorders, navigating spaces and places contributes to everyday burdens that are not well represented in the literature. In this qualitative study we observed the use of walking sticks amongst villagers in rural Botswana and examined how they might support MuBoJo health.