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Aim: This paper addresses the question of how social accountability is conceptualised by staff, students and community members associated with four medical schools aspiring to be socially accountable in two countries. Methods: Using a multiple case study approach this research explored how contextual issues have influenced social accountability at four medical schools: two in Australia and two in the Philippines. This paper reports on how research participants understood social accountability. Seventy-five participants were interviewed including staff, students, health sector representatives and community members. Field notes were taken and a documentary analysis was completed. Results: Overall there were three common understandings. Socially accountable medical education was about meeting workforce, community and health needs. Social accountability was also determined by the nature and content of programs the school implemented or how it operated. Finally, social accountability was deemed a personal responsibility. The broad consensus masked the divergent perspectives people held within each school. Conclusion: The assumption that social accountability is universally understood could not be confirmed from these data. To strengthen social accountability it is useful to learn from these institutions’ experiences to contribute to the development of the theory and practice of activities within socially accountable medical schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports a 40-year follow-up of 57 graduates from the initial intake to an Australian medical school who were selected on the basis of either academic criteria alone or desirable personal qualities as assessed by non-cognitive tests and an interview (with a third small group satisfying both criteria). Both students and teaching staff have remained blind to the basis for selection until the present day. Analysis of their under- and post-graduate careers indicates that 'academic' entrants were more likely to complete an intercalated BMedSci degree and to become specialists, while 'personal qualities' entrants were more likely to graduate with honours, become GPs, and win higher degrees after graduation. However, gender more significantly predicted these outcomes, with female results similar to 'personal qualities' entrants and males' similar to 'academic.' The results are interpreted with reference to the aims and structure of the Newcastle medicine curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Professionalism of Medical Students (PoMS) study aimed to develop a comprehensive understanding of Australian and New Zealand (Aus/NZ) medical students' opinions and experience with professionalism dilemmas. Methods: A confidential, online survey for medical students was developed and distributed to all Aus/NZ medical schools. Students submitted de-identified demographic information, gave opinions on the acceptability of a range of student behaviours for professionally challenging situations, and whether they had encountered similar situations. Results: 3171 medical students participated from all 21 Aus/NZ medical schools (16% of the total student population). Medical students reported encountering many of the professionally challenging situations and had varying opinions on what was acceptable behaviour for the scenarios. In general, students' opinions were not influenced by the seniority, gender or the type of health professional involved in the scenario. Participant demographic factors appeared to have significant effects on professional opinions – particularly male gender and being a student in the latter stages of the course. Discussion: Medical students' professional opinions are a complex area. The PoMS data provides a reference point for students, their educators and other health professionals in identifying current student professional behaviour norms, determining the effects of demographic factors on their decision making, and where important gaps exist in medical students' approaches to professionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context:Longitudinal integrated clerkships (LIC) are widely used as an educational method, particularly in rural areas. They are good for facilitating hands-on learning and deep relationships between student, patients, and supervisors. Objectives:This study sought to examine and compare learning experience of third-year rural medical students studying specialties (women’s health, aged care, child and adolescent heath, mental health, general practice) by either a traditional hospital-based rotation or a LIC in a rural general practice setting. Methods:Data was collected from two groups of rural students (LIC; traditional hospital-based) over two academic years, utilizing focus groups to investigate general experiences of living and learning rurally, within the different educational models. Results:Results reaffirmed that there was no perceived academic disadvantage to studying medicine rurally. Studying medicine in a rural area provides increased access to patients, more hands-on experience, and close relationships with patients and colleagues. LIC students reported increased confidence in clinical skills, felt better prepared for internship, however experienced more social isolation than students in hospital-based rotations. Conclusions:Students undergoing a rural LIC feel more confident in their clinical skills and preparedness for practice than other rural students. This study supports the use of LICs as a powerful educational tool. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction:There has been little qualitative research examining how physical examination skills are learned, particularly the sensory and subjective aspects of learning. The authors set out to study how medical students are taught and learn the skills of listening to sound. Methods:As part of an ethnographic study in Melbourne, 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with students and teachers as a way to reflect explicitly on their learning and teaching. Results:From these interviews, we found that learning the skills of listening to lung sounds was frequently difficult for students, with many experiencing awkwardness, uncertainty, pressure, and intimidation. However not everyone found this process difficult. Often those who had studied music reported finding it easier to be attentive to the frequency and rhythm of body sounds and find ways to describe them. Conclusions:By incorporating, distinctively in medical education, theoretical insights into “attentiveness” from anthropology and science and technology studies, the article suggests that musical education provides medical students with skills in sensory awareness. Training the senses is a critical aspect of diagnosis that needs to be better addressed in medical education. Practical approaches for improving students’ education of attention are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Problem-based learning (PBL) in medical education focuses on preparing independent learners for continuing, self-directed, professional development beyond the classroom. Skills in self-regulated learning (SRL) are important for success in PBL and ongoing professional practice. However, the development of SRL skills is often left to chance. This study presents the investigated outcomes for students when support for the development of SRL was embedded in a PBL medical curriculum. This investigation involved design, delivery and testing of SRL support, embedded into the first phase of a four-year, graduate-entry MBBS degree. The intervention included concept mapping and goal-setting activities through iterative processes of planning, monitoring and reflecting on learning. A mixed-methods approach was used to collect data from seven students to develop case studies of engagement with, and outcomes from, the SRL support. The findings indicate that students who actively engaged with support for SRL demonstrated increases in cognitive and metacognitive functioning. Students also reported a greater sense of confidence in and control over their approaches to learning in PBL. This study advances understanding about how the development of SRL can be integrated into PBL. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Community-based rural education opportunities have expanded in Australia, attracting more medical students to placements in rural and remote settings. Aim: To identify the factors in an integrated, community-engaged rural placement that may contribute to preparedness for practice (P4P) from the perspective of students and clinicians. Method: Forty-two semi-structured interviews with medical students, supervisors and clinicians analysed thematically. Results: Opportunities for clinical learning, personal and professional development and cultural awareness were reported by students and clinicians as key factors that contribute to P4P. Potential barriers in rural and remote settings included geographical and academic isolation, perceived educational risk and differing degrees of program engagement. Conclusions: A longitudinal clinical placement in a rural setting may enable development of enhanced competencies leading to P4P. A rural setting can provide a unique experience through hands-on learning, enhanced personal and professional development opportunities and observation of the cultural and contextual impact on health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a lack of consensus regarding the qualities possessed by the ideal doctor, and very limited research regarding the views of medical students on these qualities. Aims: To investigate the views of commencing medical students regarding the desirable qualities of doctors. Methods: A survey containing a set of proposed desirable qualities of doctors identified from the existing literature was completed by 158 first-year medical students. Results: The survey had a 75% response rate. Students rated the individual qualities of empathy, motivation to be a doctor, good verbal communication, ethically sound, integrity and honesty as the most important. A factor analysis identified six categories of qualities: methodical processing, cognitive capacity, people skills, generic work ethic, role certainty and warmth. Significant differences in factor scores were found across subgroups of students (international and domestic students, with and without prior tertiary studies) on the following factors: methodical processing, which was scored highest by domestic students with prior tertiary studies, cognitive capacity, which was scored highest by domestic students without prior tertiary studies and generic work ethic, which was scored highest by international students. Conclusions: Medical students identified a range of desirable personal qualities of a doctor which varied according to student characteristics, including their prior educational experience. Future research aiming to define such desirable qualities should include a broader range of stakeholders, including students at different training levels and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Australia, in an environment undergoing rapidly changing requirements for health services, there is an urgent need for future practitioners to be knowledgeable, skilful and self-motivated in ensuring the quality and safety of their practice. Postgraduate medical education and vocational programs have responded by incorporating training in quality improvement into continuing professional development requirements, but undergraduate medical education has been slower to respond. Aims: This article describes the clinical audit programme undertaken by all students in the final year of the medical course at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, Australia, and examines the educational worth of this approach. Methods: Data were obtained from curricular documents, including the clinical audit handbook, and from evaluation questionnaires administered to students and supervisors. Results: The clinical audit programme is based on sound educational principles, including situated and participatory learning and reflective practice. It has demonstrated multi-dimensional benefits for students in terms of learning the complexities of conducting an effective audit in professional practice, and for health services in terms of facilitating quality improvement. Conclusion: Although this programme was developed in a medical course, the concept is readily transferable to a variety of other health professional curricula in which students undertake clinical placements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]